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Yankees' new catcher is absolutely jacked There may not be a jersey big enough Photo via Brace Hemmelgarn, Twins photographer The Yankees and Twins pulled off a huge trade on Sunday night -- the highlights seeming to be Minnesota getting Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela, with New York acquiring Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. But the Yanks also got another big piece that may have slipped under the radar. And we'd like to put a major emphasis on big because, well, just look at this dude. That's 24-year-old catcher Ben Rortvedt. He was rated the best defensive catcher in the Twins' system last season, he's an exceptional framer and some scouts believe he may eventually have 20-HR power. And yes, as you could probably see from outer space, he is exceedingly yoked. Although he does work hard in the gym, many Twins coaches and teammates believed that Rortvedt was just born this way. You know, like Superman. MLB.com's Do-Hyoung Park did a full profile on the catcher's biceps last year and reliever Tyler Duffey gave the only plausible explanation. "We were actually just talking about this," Duffey said. "It's not like he's doing some ungodly amount of weights. He was just touched by God and is gifted in what he's got." Is that in every way?!?!?

Yankees' new catcher is absolutely jacked There may not be a jersey big enough Photo via Brace Hemmelgarn, Twins photographer The Yankees and Twins pulled off a huge trade on Sunday night -- the highlights seeming to be Minnesota getting Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela, with New York acquiring Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. But the Yanks also got another big piece that may have slipped under the radar. And we'd like to put a major emphasis on big because, well, just look at this dude. That's 24-year-old catcher Ben Rortvedt. He was rated the best defensive catcher in the Twins' system last season, he's an exceptional framer and some scouts believe he may eventually have 20-HR power. And yes, as you could probably see from outer space, he is exceedingly yoked. Although he does work hard in the gym, many Twins coaches and teammates believed that Rortvedt was just born this way. You know, like Superman. MLB.com's Do-Hyoung Park did a full profile on the catcher's biceps last year and reliever Tyler Duffey gave the only plausible explanation. "We were actually just talking about this," Duffey said. "It's not like he's doing some ungodly amount of weights. He was just touched by God and is gifted in what he's got." Is that in every way?!?!?

Few extra bucks burning a hole in your pocket? Opulent, Revamped Prospect Park South Manse with Ballroom, Garage asks $12.95 Million The exterior of this grand Colonial Revival in Prospect Park South has always been an attention-grabber, and after a renovation the interior certainly is eye-popping. In the Prospect Park South Historic District, the weathered but grand early 20th century standalone at 1305 Albemarle was in need of restoration when it sold for $2.75 million in 2017. Now it is back on the market after an exterior restoration and an interior makeover for a substantially higher price. Built in 1905 in developer Dean Alvord’s planned community of standlone houses and green parkways, the impressively sized house on a corner lot was deemed “one of the most eccentric buildings in the Colonial tradition in the district” in the designation report. Those features, designed by architect Henry B. Moore, include monumental two-story Ionic columns marking the entrance, smaller-scaled columns on the porch, an eclectic mix of windows and impressive swan’s neck dormers ornamenting the roofline. Listed for $2.988 million in 2016, the house went into contract just eight days later. The exterior got an LPC approved restoration that included selective repair and some replacement of deteriorated features. The interior had already had some alterations over the years, and owner and architect Stephen Tanenbaum told the Wall Street Journal that in addition to the exterior work the three-year project included some changes to the floor plan along with updated mechanicals, including central air. The listing photos also show new wallpaper and other decor changes to the over 11,000 square foot house, which includes nine bedrooms and 7.5 baths spread over four floors. Many original interior features remain, including a wood-filled dining room with Ionic pilasters (echoing the exterior ornament) along the wood paneling, a beamed ceiling and built-in buffet. The dining room also has a fireplace, the floor plan shows; it is one of six in the house. Three of them are wood burning, including one with a classical frieze in the black-and-white tiled foyer that got a makeover with grey and white paint and a new black tile surround. The first floor has multiple parlors along with the dining room and a kitchen at the rear of the floor with French doors opening onto a deck. As expected with the scale of the house, it’s an expansive kitchen with marble tile, a center island, glass fronted white cabinets and a rolling library ladder to reach them. Glitzy mirrored backsplash tiles make an appearance in the kitchen and in an upstairs bath. There’s a bold architecture-themed wallpaper in the upstairs hallway that leads to five of the bedrooms, including a large suite with dressing area and en suite bath with walk-in shower and a claw foot tub. Upstairs is the ballroom where in 1908 George E. and Sarah Gale hosted a “musicale” for more than 300 guests. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported the room was filled with roses, lilacs and palms and the house and ballroom were so extensive that the large number of guests were “readily accommodated.” The ballroom has been opened up to the attic to create a soaring ceiling and outfitted with a vintage bar that stretches along one wall with plenty of space left for billiards and movie watching. A spiral staircase leads up to a mezzanine. fancy-shmancy! The finished basement includes a sauna and workout room as well as a one-bedroom staff apartment with its own exterior entrance and a full kitchen. Outside, a long driveway leads to the two-car garage with a charging station. In addition to the fair amount of porch space, there is a gated rear yard. [Listing: 1305 Albemarle Road | I hate the floor and the ceiling looks like an ice cube tray. Way too much going on here: Very nice. I approve. The rug adds a needed pop of color. The table and chairs look wimpy against the room's grandeur. The kitchen of Dorian GRAY: Oh, dear God! MY EYES! MY EYES! The curtains need a pattern with color and the gold on the bed frame looks tacky. No... just... No! Nyet... just... Nyet! A sitting area for people to watch you bathe?!?!? I don't like how the bannister spindles attach at the base. I would have picked a different pinball machine, but nice!

UPS missed a priority window to make ferry reservations for its trucks to get to Nantucket this summer — leaving businesses scrambling to accommodate affluent locals and moneyed visitors. The shipping courier failed to request reservations for its trucks during an early priority window before ferries for the island’s busiest season from May to October were booked close to capacity, the Boston Globe reported Sunday. “It’s going to put us in a world of hurt,” Shantaw Bloise, business manager at the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, told the newspaper. “I can’t imagine how we’ll be able to function just relying on DHL, FedEx and the Postal Service.” James Malkin, a governing board member of the Steamship Authority, which regulates ferry operations between mainland Massachusetts and Nantucket, said UPS didn’t respond last fall when it sent paperwork to freight shippers to make ferry reservations for this summer. The Steamship Authority even reached out as to why UPS didn’t respond ahead of the reservations being opened to the public, Malkin said. “Someone at UPS dropped the ball,” he told the Globe. It’s unclear exactly when, but at some point, the “light bulb went off” and UPS recognized the error and scooped up whatever reservations for it trucks to reach Nantucket’s distribution center, Malkin said. “But they don’t have what they need,” Malkin continued. Stephanie Correia, who operates Stephanie’s, a clothing and home goods store on Main Street, said UPS is a “lifeline” for businesses like hers and questioned how the company could drop the ball so blatantly. “You cross your T’s and dot your I’s,” Correia told the Globe. “I’ve been in business for 26 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this.” A message seeking comment from UPS was not immediately returned early Monday, but a company spokesperson said the courier is working to find other solutions. “UPS has ferry reservations and is working on other transportation options to ensure packages are delivered on time to the island during the busy summer season,” UPS told the Globe. UPS’ ferry reservations to Martha’s Vineyard appear unaffected, the Globe reported, despite bulk reservations for both islands typically being requested on the same form. But if the disruption to UPS’ service to Nantucket isn’t resolved by May, retailers and everyday residents may suffer the consequences of low supplies of food, fuel and appliances. “We get two UPS deliveries a day,” Vanessa Moore, of Nantucket Housefitters, told the Globe. “Our clients won’t be getting the tiles for their bathroom floors.” But simply adding capacity to the fright shippers might not be doable, a Steamship Authority spokesman said. “We’re basically at the maximum number of routes right now in terms of the number of boats and the number of crew members,” spokesman Sean Driscoll said. “There might be a couple of trips here and there we can add, but not on any kind of systemic basis … There’s no secret tunnel for the freight shippers.” One Nantucket shop owner, meanwhile, told Bloise she’s even considering hauling her wares to the island herself. “People are going to have to get creative,” the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce business manager told the Globe. https://nypost.com/2022/03/14/ups-missed-nantucket-ferry-reservation-window/

THE MEDIOCRE MRS. MAISEL finished out its season and somehow I think I'll survive the summer without it.

Each team would play four 4 games series a year... one against each team in their division. Do they really play so many more now? Donaldson came up as a catcher. Ralph Kiner-Falafel has caught 70+ games in the majors. Maybe they're the new catching tandem.

Pfizer CEO says fourth COVID-19 shot ‘necessary’ due to waning immunity https://nypost.com/2022/03/13/pfizer-ceo-fourth-covid-shot-necessary-due-to-waning-immunity/ Most people will need to get a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose to be protected from the virus, the head of Pfizer said on Sunday. “It is necessary for most” people, CEO Albert Bourla said during an interview on CBS’s “Face The Nation” when asked if Americans can expect to get annual COVID booster shots every fall. The regimen of two initial doses plus a booster is not able to protect against variants and wanes too quickly in strength, Bourla conceded — making additional shots inevitable. “Right now, the protection that you’re getting from the third [shot], it is good enough — actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths — it’s not that good against infections, but doesn’t last very long,” he said. Pfizer and other companies are working on shots that will protect against any future variants. “Omicron was the first [variant] that was able to evade, in a skillful way the immune protection that we’re given, but also in all that the duration of the protection doesn’t last very long,” Bourla told host Margaret Brennan. “What we are trying to do and we are working very diligently right now it is to make not only a vaccine that will protect against all variants, including Omicron, but also something that can protect for at least a year.”

Buffalo Bills’ billionaire owner set to get $1B in public funds for new stadium The billionaire owner of the Buffalo Bills appears poised to get a record amount of public funding for a new stadium in what critics are calling an unprecedented giveaway. Gov. Kathy Hochul — a Buffalo native — is expected to announce in the next several days a deal in which New York State and Erie County agree to pay nearly $1 billion toward a new $1.4 billion stadium that will be located next to the current one, sources close to the situation told The Post. That would be the most public money ever spent on building a US stadium, University of Michigan sports management professor Mark Rosentraub told The Post. The proposal for public funding would be part of the New York budget that needs to be submitted by April 1 to the state Legislature. If it passes, the stadium, which would be designed by an architectural firm called Populous, would be open as soon as 2026. Bills Owner Terry Pegula — a fracking mogul worth more than $7 billion — had threatened to move the team from Buffalo if he didn’t get public funding to build a new stadium. But there was debate, as The Post reported in September, about whether he was bluffing, considering how closely he’s associated with Western New York. A veteran New York government lobbyist says it appears government officials bought into the threat — even if it was a bluff. “Everyone in government folded like a cheap suit,” the lobbyist, who didn’t want to be named and isn’t involved in the negotiations, told The Post. “I am stunned.” The lobbyist said it appears negotiations have happened behind closed doors, the lobbyist said. The lobbyist slammed the idea of Pegula’s team getting a billion dollars in public funding when there are more pressing needs like universal child care. Jim Wilkinson, a spokesman for Pegula Sports Entertainment, told The Post that an agreement isn’t final and that there was still work to do to seal the deal. Still, he said: “The governor has done an outstanding job in getting everyone to the table together, and we continue to make strong progress.” A spokesperson for Hochul said in response to a query from The Post: “Any reports of details are premature. As we have said repeatedly, negotiations are ongoing.” Rosentraub, the Michigan professor and expert on public financing of stadiums, said the apparent New York deal is an outlier compared to other recent stadium projects, such as the Las Vegas Raiders domed stadium that costs taxpayers $750 million. “The new stadium allows Vegas to host 13 to 15 events a year like concerts it couldn’t host before because of the summer heat,” said Rosentraub, who worked on the Vegas project. He said because of those events, there was some rationale for public investment. But he said it’s hard to see the public benefit to a new Bills stadium, which won’t be domed — and therefore won’t be a hot ticket during Buffalo’s brutal winters. “If you say the only benefit is keeping the team that’s a tough one to justify,” he said. The new stadium would be built next to the current one — which opened in 1973 — in the Buffalo suburbs. There was discussion about building a new stadium in downtown Buffalo so it could revitalize the city. That’s what happened in cities like Minneapolis and Indianapolis, though they were expensive public projects. “When making an investment in a stadium in a suburb it’s hard to find the public benefit,” Rosentraub said. “Without a realistic development strategy, I’d argue this funding is quite unusual.” He said Hochul and her team would’ve been better-served offering perhaps $1 billion toward a new stadium — but only if it were to be build in downtown Buffalo and only if Pegula would’ve at least matched the public funds. Pegula has argued that he’s already spent hundreds of millions of dollars in developments for Western New York — he also owns the Buffalo Sabres hockey team — and was reluctant to plow more than a billion dollars more of his own money into a new stadium for the Bills. He let it be known it made little financial sense to spend $1 billion himself on a stadium in Buffalo because it is just too small a market, with a metropolitan area of a little more than a million people. https://nypost.com/2022/03/11/buffalo-bills-billionaire-owner-set-to-get-1b-in-public-funds-for-new-stadium/

Sure it is. How about: two 2-game series vs. each team in the other league = 60 five games vs. the other 10 teams in your league = 50 (alternate who gets the extra home game each year) 13 games between each team within a division = 52 (alternate who gets the extra home game each year) This way you have an odd number of games against every other team in your league, which makes it easy to settle head to head tiebreakers. You get 2 home & road series vs. each team in your division and 1 each against everyone else. You still get more than twice as many games vs. each team in your division than anyone else, which keeps the division races meaningful and 1.7 times as many games within your league than against the other, which keeps the wildcard races meaningful, especially since every team in each league plays the exact same schedule versus the other league. Travel can be kept to a minimum by making sure teams play as many games as possible in close markets back-to-back: NYY-NYM-Bos, Cubs-Sox (can be attached to Minn-Mil) , Det-Tor, LAA-LAD-SD, Atl-Miami-Tampa, Balt-Wash-Phil, KC-StL, Oak-SF, Clev-Cin-Pitt, Hous-Tex, Ariz-Col Only Seattle doesn't have a geographic partner.

Don't I know it!!!

Happy 115th, Dad!!!

I hope you like this provision I negotiated: beginning in 2023, the schedule will be adjusted such that every team plays all 29 opponents in each season. The exact format is to be determined, but those games will come attached to a decrease in the number of intra-divisional games teams will play. Previously, teams played 19 games per season against all four of their divisional opponents.

SEE DINO ARRESTED: https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2022/02/08/5992990708842709726/640x360_MP4_5992990708842709726.mp4

Tarek & Christina have announced that next week's season finale will be the series finale. 👀😭😱😥👀

The Bronx isn’t burning but it is on fire with new luxury buildings boasting sky-high Manhattan-like rents — some over $7,000 per month. The borough’s newest building, Third at Bankside, has several two- and three-bedroom market-rate apartments that can set you back over $5,000. There’s even a stunning spread with two baths and a huge private terrace available for $7,334 for a one-year lease or $7,434 for 18 months — and already has at least one applicant craving the rooms with lots of views. The 25-story building is being developed in Mott Haven by Brookfield as part of its seven-tower Bankside project that sits along the shoreline of the Harlem River and straddles the Third Avenue bridge to Manhattan. But before you cry foul, the high comes with the low. The developers are also creating plenty of affordable rentals (90% to 130% of AMI which is an income range of $61,543 – $167,570) for those that qualify through the city website. These studios rent for $1,795 per month, one-bedrooms for $2,200 to $2,350 and two bedrooms for $2,695 to $2,900. an absolute pittance! There are other perks as well: All new renters get two months of free rent and free access to amenities that include a “creative makerspace,” resident lounges, a kid’s playroom, test kitchen and outdoor BBQ area plus a fully loaded gym that also overlooks the river — all of which normally costs $125 per month. To support the under market prices, the other residents are paying up. With its model units open and tours underway, market rate studios start at $2,900, one-bedrooms at $3,100, two-bedrooms at $4,000 and three-bedrooms at $5,000. Some two-bedrooms have two bathrooms plus a den that could easily serve as an office or third bedroom and start at $5,029 for an 18-month lease. While that’s pretty penny for the historically price-competative Bronx, try finding that much space in the city at that price point. There’s also a three-bedroom with two-baths on the eighth floor that faces away from the river and a relative bargain at $5,025 for 18 months. The leasing website offers multiple options to check out all the floor plans and flexible terms. “There is a lot of interest for the large apartments,” said Charles Howe, vice president, development, Brookfield Properties. Some couples are leasing two-bedrooms and using the extra space for the now pandemic-necessary home office or future nursery, he said, while singles want to share them with a roommate — especially those with two bathrooms. Seven of the units have private terraces and include a dramatic 23rd-floor, one-bedroom, one-bath apartment facing away from the river that rents for a whopping $5,126 on an 18-month lease while its neighboring studio commands $4,382 for a 17-month lease but leaps to $5,077 for 18 months. A splashy retreat in the form of a pool with lounge furniture — another amenity for residents. The team expects interest from those who work at the local hospitals and courthouse as well as at Yankee Stadium — perhaps even from a Yankee who wants a brag-worthy pied-a-terre. For someone with deep pockets or a sugar daddy, that priciest three-bedroom, two-bathroom pad on the 18th floor of the project’s first 25-story building is hard to resist. Its huge, sundrenched outdoor terrace has sweeping views across the city from Long Island City to the toothpick towers of Billionaire’s Row and even the top of the George Washington Bridge. Another private terrace also wraps around a two-bedroom, two-bath unit on the ninth floor that has an 18-month rent of $6,160 per month while its neighboring two-bedroom has a very long terrace for a mere $5,408 for 18 months. Sitting on sheltered paved courtyards next to the Third Ave. Bridge, the entire project is just a seven-minute walk to Manhattan’s 125th Street 4,5 and 6 trains or the 6 train at E. 138th Street in the Bronx. According to Brookfield executives, the mostly open plan apartments also have slightly more elbow room than comparable new rentals such as their own along the Brooklyn waterfront, while the oversized windows — some are floor to ceiling and even wrap some corners — make the units feel even bigger. Every apartment in the LEED silver building designed by Hill West Architects also comes with built-in window shades and deep closets. Some have entry alcoves and walk-in closets, giving them a roomier feel. Blomberg appliances include a stacked washer/dryer (often in its own closet), a dishwasher and microwave, while the stoves have gas burners for cooking — and are among the last apartments allowed to hook up under the city’s new anti-gas rules. This bedroom has a view of the water and is the size of a shoebox!. Counters are dark grey Caesarstone with grey cabinetry accented by light wood or open shelves along with stainless sinks and refrigerators. Bathrooms have either no-lip stone and tiled showers or a bathtub — and all have deep, light wood drawers and black Caesarstone counters. The pet-friendly building allows multi-pets and large dogs and even has a dog-washing station for when it snows or that walk on the new esplanade turns into a swim in the river. When it opens later this year, the outdoor pool will have a separate membership fee and an indoor pool will be located in another Bankside tower. Valet parking is also available for $295 to $395 per month.

MLB, MLBPA Reach New Collective Bargaining Agreement The new CBA will cover the 2022-26 seasons, and the transaction freeze associated with the lockout is expected to be lifted as soon as the agreement is formally ratified (let the feeding frenzy begin!), which ESPN’s Jeff Passan characterizes as a mere formality at this point. The Score’s Travis Sawchik tweets that the proposal passed by a vote of 26 to 12 among the MLBPA’s 30 team representatives and eight executive subcommittee members. What to know and what's next? Opening Day moves to April 7 and a full 162-game schedule will be played Spring training camps open with a March 11 voluntary report date and March 13 mandatory date Spring training games start March 17 Free agency to begin immediately once CBA is ratified Playoffs expand to 12 teams, beginning this season The National League adopts the designated hitter starting this season CBT expected to begin at $230 million and grow to $244 million Which side made out better? Do both sides have reason to be happy? Bradford Doolittle: The owners got an expanded postseason format, preserved the basic economic structures that loomed over the last couple of CBAs and have more leeway change on-the-field rules. In other words, the owners won. Sure, the players received a couple of mechanisms to get more money to younger players. The tweaking of CBT levels and penalties might loosen up some of the top-end spending. If the deal on the international draft comes together, and thus qualifying offers are removed, that's good for high-end free agents. And maybe the new draft lottery will help boost mid-level free agency if it results in fewer teams entering full-scale rebuilds. Probably not. Still, the gains for the MLBPA seem modest and anything resembling the status quo is good for the owners. If the MLBPA's bottom-line goal was to increase the players' aggregate share of a revenue pie that is likely to keep growing, then it's not clear this agreement furthers that goal. -- Bradford Doolittle What does this CBA mean for CBA negotiations going forward? Buster Olney: The new CBA is in place, but just like after the previous agreement was forged in 2016, you can already see the storm clouds gathering on the horizon. Lingering player anger is inevitable among the middle class within the union, because there is almost nothing in this deal in place to prop up that group - and they are going to get crushed in the next few weeks, in the next few years. The middle class takes the biggest hit from the practice of tanking, because teams pocket money rather than spending, and little was done to deter teams from tanking, beyond the misdemeanor costs tied to a draft lottery. As it stands, the current system will reward the elite players -- the best of the young players will get more money from the bonus pool and the best of the older players will continue to get the biggest deals. But none of that ensures that small-market and mid-market teams will spend, and with the best of the youngest players now becoming more expensive, teams will be more aggressive in non-tendering arbitration-eligible players. This will only further increase the free-agent pool, fueling the supply-and-demand problem that has gutted spending on the middle class. Historically, it's the owners who have had a Haves Vs. Have Nots problem. Moving forward, factions within the union will have a similar fight -- including discussions about whether the best interests of all of the players are served by having so many members of the leadership group represented by one agent. In this round of negotiations, Scott Boras's clients made up the majority of the players making the big decisions. Players and agents will look to change that dynamic in the years ahead, to push for the high volume of union members who comprise the rank-and-file.

The Whoopster wants y'all to know she was on steroids when filming her scenes for season 2, which is why her face resembled a pumpkin.

But Little Caesar's was started by that guy Cleopatra was involved with, right?