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Uni Watch

A Few Items of Interest as We Approach Labor Day Weekend

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Good morning! As we ease into the Labor Day weekend, and as I ease back into the saddle for daily weekday posts, I want to start today by going over a few bits of Uni Watch business:

  • First and foremost, Uni Watch Plus is now officially live and ready to go. You can sign up for it here. Since this is the first day of UW+, it’s possible that there may be a few hiccups with the implementation — my thanks in advance for your patience as we iron out all the kinks. (If you missed yesterday’s post with all the details about UW+, you can — and should! — read that here.)
  • Second, thanks so much to everyone who sent kind thoughts (via email, via the comments section, via Twitter, etc.) regarding yesterday’s post about my August break. I really appreciate the support during a tumultuous time.
  • Third, in case you missed it yesterday, I have a new Bulletin article about how I’m rethinking my policy about booing at the ballpark. It’s generated a lot of good discussion (and unlike most of my Bulletin content, it’s not paywalled), so please consider taking a look.
  • Fourth, a friendly reminder that my 2022 Uni Watch NFL Season Preview — by far the biggest, best, most epic NFL Preview I’ve ever put together — will be published on Bulletin next Tuesday morning. You can get it delivered to your in-box that morning by subscribing to my Bulletin content, contacting me to get info on my Bulletin workaround, or signing up for our UW+/Bulletin bundle.
  • Fifth, since we’re a few days away from Labor Day — the one major holiday that the uni-verse ignores — you might want to check out this blog post from last year in which I discussed what it might look like if MLB teams wore special uniforms for Labor Day.
  • Sixth, speaking of the Labor Day weekend: Phil is currently taking a well-deserved break after his August heroics, so we won’t have new content tomorrow, Sunday, or Monday. I realize this is a drag because of all the college football taking place this weekend. We have this same issue every year, because Phil always takes (and deserves!) Labor Day weekend off after doing all the weekday posts in August. On the plus side this year, if you sign up for Uni Watch Plus, you can discuss all of this weekend’s college football developments (and anything else) on our new discussion forum. And the best news, of course, is that we’ll return to having weekend content next weekend, when Phil reclaims his regular turf.

I think that’s it in terms of Uni Watch news. (If there are any significant uni-related developments today, I’ll publish new posts about them, of course, plus I’ll also have at least one additional post today, even if there’s no breaking news.)

Meanwhile, here’s a little story: As many of you know, I go for an hour-long bike ride every day in Prospect Park. As I was proceeding on my first loop through the park yesterday, I had to stop because a big tree had fallen and was blocking the road. Lots of bikers and joggers were gathered around the tree and taking photos, but I couldn’t take any pics myself because I never take my phone with me when I bike (it’s often the only part of the day when I’m completely off the internet). So I went up to a guy and asked if he could text me some of the pics he’d taken — he said sure. Here are some of the shots he sent me, including one showing that the tree’s trunk had apparently rotted out:


And here’s the kicker: One of the joggers on the scene said, “I ran by this same spot less than an hour ago — there was no fallen tree.” So the tree had just come down within the previous hour. If I had left my house a bit earlier (which in fact I had intended to do before I got sidetracked by a few mundane tasks around the house), it could have fallen right on me! Thankfully, nobody was hurt. Crazy stuff!

• • • • •

Today’s Ticker is available here.

Everyone have a great holiday weekend and stay well. Peace. — Paul

 

 
  
 
Comments (31)

    Congrats on the program launch! I’m still getting used to paying for journalism (and I’m allowed to the current systems are bad but I’m used to them), but when I realize I’ve been reading Paul Lukas’s stuff every day for at least 10 years and maybe more like 15, it’s a drop in the bucket and I’m guaranteed to get my value.
    Certain games on my phone? I haven’t played as often after my child’s birth. I’ve gone days without playing. Keep the ads there, still free and good enough. Uni Watch? I’ve been disappointed in myself when I’ve missed an article. So like I said, happy to pay up! (Meanwhile, wow, the ads are really bad on my iPhone! Won’t miss those!)
    It looks like I signed up using my government name Michael, and I might have lost the ability to call myself “Mike Engle on iPhone” or “on iPad” or whatever. (True origin story: That was my way of saying “if I missed something, I’m on my phone, and I would have more likely clicked that tab if I were at a real computer.” Something about a list of differently colored TV numbers from the front, I mentioned Michael Vick’s Virginia Tech as an example and Paul said “Dude, that example was right there in the Ticker!” Oops. I was on my phone. Might have been an Android back then. Good riddance!)
    So…yeah! Still me! Still go by Mike and happy to be here!

    We’re never seeing MLB do any sort of Labor Day uni tribute. As we saw this past winter, the league is very combative and petty when it comes to dealing with labor.

    Just a programming note in re ” (and unlike most of my Bulletin content, it’s not paywalled)”.
    The Bulletin content is not paywalled for those with a Facebook account. For others, not so much. I’m not complaining mind you, just angling for full disclosure.

    Actually, yesterday’s article is not paywalled for *anyone.* Even if you don’t have a Facebook account, you can still read it here (you’ll see a pop-up encouraging you to subscribe, but you don’t have to subscribe in order to read that article): link

    Indeed. The little “X” in the upper right corner didn’t show up on my first visit. Apologies.

    I can confirm—I don’t have a Facebook account, but I read and enjoyed the whole piece.

    One proofreading bit: at one point you say “ Hughes was basically saying the same thing that Osaka, Díaz, and Gallo said”; pretty sure you meant to mention Báez, not Díaz. (Glad to see the accent marks, though.)

    A couple months ago, my buddy and I were driving out of the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia on a gravel road, not going too fast, and a dead tree fell about 20 yards in front of us. No thunderstorm or windy conditions or anything like that. Probably the scariest thing I have ever seen unfold!

    I missed yesterday’s post until today. Thanks for the update and I’ll definitely subscribe for the bundle.

    I’m very sorry to hear about all the adversity you suffered during August. Hoping for better days for you ahead Paul.

    Mike

    After a rough August, it’s onward and upward! Looking forward to seeing the cool stuff from UW+

    Congrats on the UW+ site, Paul — I just signed up. Sad to hear about Mary, but hopefully an amiable parting makes the split at least somewhat less difficult. And congratulations on not getting crushed by a falling tree (I believe this is the first time I’ve ever said this phrase). Good luck with everything moving forward!

    Since the site redesign. I often see a gray area appear at the bottom of the screen and I hit a little X to make it go away. Happens on laptop and phone. Seems to pop up randomly.

    I have the gray bar issue as well. Just noting that to indicate it’s not a singular “just you” issue.

    Guys: This happens because you’re using an ad-blocker, which in this case blocks the ad content but not the little bar in which the ad would normally appear.

    Since ad revenue keeps this site running (well, unless you sign up for UW+), I respectfully ask that you consider not using your ad-blocker here. Thanks!

    Enjoy the well-deserved weekend off. Quick question: are Vilk and TJ returning for their normal Sunday Morning Uni Watch roles?

    Sometimes it’s terrifying to think about how close we are (or were) to witnessing or being part of something horrible. We came across a similar scene on vacation this summer, unfortunately I’m that incident someone was killed. It really made me stop and think and appreciate how quickly it could all be over. Sorry if this is too dark for UW. Glad you’re ok.

    Not sure of the best place to ask this, and it probably has been asked before, but do you think the timestamps on the site (for articles and comments) will ever be updated to reflect our local timezone? Maybe a UW+ feature? ; )

    Great to see you back, PL. And sorry to hear about your tough August.

    Paul, the $20 I spent to join UniWatch+ was well worth it just to avoid the ads, happy to pay a journalist for stories I have enjoyed for almost 20 years.

    Brooklyn Branches, the sequel.

    Is it possible to gift someone a UW+ subscription, ala when readers would pay to raffle off a membership card? I think it’s more than worth the price but I personally have no interest in an online forum or push notifications. I appreciate what you do Paul and I think you’re a good columnist. In fact, this is the only blog I read on a daily basis.

    Happy to join for $50.00 per year for great content from great people. Best value in all sports paid websites. Keep up the great work Paul & Company!

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