Passion for pitching forever without injury, while with great skill and stamina. Oh, and I want to save the world, too. AKA Rob MacKnight
San Diego, California, USA
Joined October 2008
- Tweets92.4K
- Following1.8K
- Followers1K
- Likes43.2K
bballer retweeted
NEW: The federal prosecutor leading the Trump administration’s effort to force California to block people on a list of alleged noncitizens from voting was disqualified from his post by a judge Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Seabright found that Essayli is “unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney.” democracydocket.com/news-ale…
bballer retweeted
According to Le Monde, citing sources, U.S. special envoy Witkoff held a tense meeting in Florida on October 9 with Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office.
Sources claimed that Witkoff spoke to Budanov “like a child,” trying to “teach” him how to make money.
Witkoff proposed a postwar “regional prosperity plan” that included fully restoring Russian oil and gas transit to Europe through Ukrainian territory.
Witkoff argued that Ukraine would earn transit revenues while Europe would benefit from lower energy costs.
Budanov reportedly replied that Ukraine’s model is “not Belarus, but Poland,” then stepped out to call President Zelenskyy, who advised him not to show any reaction.
When the talks resumed, the Ukrainian side was shown a document outlining a U.S.-Russia diesel deal.
An irritated Witkoff reportedly said: “Accept this diesel deal and stop striking Russian oil refineries — you are putting the world at risk!”
Ukrainian participants were described as shocked, viewing the plan as creating dependency on Moscow and noting that the United States appeared to have secured nothing in return from Putin.
A source close to the delegation told Le Monde: “I have never seen the Ukrainians so stunned and alarmed after a meeting.”
Analysts contrasted the episode with the February 28, 2025 Oval Office incident, saying this one involves concrete policy decisions that could affect Ukraine’s ability to defend itself ahead of a potentially harsh winter.
lemonde.fr/international/art…
bballer retweeted
"I hit a grand slam off Ron Herbel and when his manager Herman Franks came out to get him, he was bringing Herbel’s suitcase."
Bob Uecker.
With Willie Mays and Joe Torre.
CRAMPS kill off the Miz in the biggest game of his life?
Cue my teammates with the Midol jokes.
Dang, I guess Tampa has a chance again.
On the baseball beat much of my life:
latimes.com/sports/dodgers/s…
Fascinating that he has the courage to speak critically with candor:
Retired Russian General Leonid Ivashov has delivered a devastating assessment of Vladimir Putin’s leadership, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the deteriorating condition of the Russian state.
Ivashov is no ordinary Kremlin critic. He is a retired general, professor, and geopolitical analyst with decades of experience in Russia’s military establishment. He publicly opposed the invasion of Ukraine before it began, warning that the consequences could be catastrophic for Russia itself.
Now, nearly four years into the full-scale war, Ivashov argues that his worst predictions have come true.
After watching Putin’s lengthy televised appearance, he described a president increasingly detached from the reality experienced by ordinary Russians.
“I saw neither a leader, nor a commander, nor a defender of the people. I saw only a man living in a fairy tale, while the rest of the country is trying to survive on 16,000 rubles a month.”
His assessment of the war was equally severe. According to Ivashov, Russia has failed to achieve meaningful military success while suffering strategic defeats that extend far beyond the battlefield.
He described an economy under growing pressure, industries in decline, a collapsing education system, and scientific institutions struggling to survive.
Healthcare, he warned, is deteriorating as regional governments reduce medical spending. Rising prices are steadily impoverishing ordinary Russians, while declining food quality adds another burden to households already struggling to make ends meet.
But perhaps his darkest warning concerns Russia’s demographic future.
Ivashov portrayed Russia as a country experiencing a profound population crisis, with the war accelerating the loss of working-age men and worsening an already dangerous demographic trajectory.
He was equally dismissive of the Kremlin’s claims about Russia’s international partnerships.
North Korea and Belarus, he argued, cannot provide the economic or strategic support Russia needs. And China, despite Moscow’s constant declarations of friendship, should not be mistaken for a genuine military or political ally.
Having worked with Chinese officials for many years, Ivashov rejected the Kremlin’s portrayal of Beijing as a dependable strategic partner.
His ultimate warning was stark: a strategic defeat in Ukraine could threaten not merely Putin’s political future but the territorial and institutional integrity of the Russian Federation itself.
What makes these remarks particularly significant is their source. Ivashov is not a Western politician, a Ukrainian official, or an opposition activist speaking from exile. He comes from the Russian military establishment and opposed the invasion before the first Russian tanks crossed Ukraine’s borders.
His conclusions are sweeping and controversial, and the specific quotations attributed to him require verification against the original interview. Nevertheless, his longstanding opposition to the invasion illustrates something the Kremlin has repeatedly tried to obscure: criticism of this war has also emerged from within Russia’s own military circles.
The central question is no longer simply what Putin hopes to achieve in Ukraine.
It is how much more Russia will sacrifice in pursuit of those ambitions.
Coming out of my workout, I see this and I am a bit flummoxed.
Is there a good reason to put in your windshield shade when in underground parking?
Another crime against humanity by Putin:
Ukrainian publishing house KSD has released video showing the destruction of its warehouse after a Russian attack on October 27.
According to KSD, approximately 300,000 books were housed at the site. The extent of the salvagable stock is still unknown, as heavy smoke damaged even the copies left untouched by flames and water.
Russia has been burning Ukrainian books, banning our language, repressing and executing writers for centuries in attempts to erase our culture and language.
Can’t allow it!
The Trump administration is considering dropping sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund, run by Kirill Dmitriev. An unbelievable betrayal of Ukraine. nytimes.com/2026/10/27/us/po… via @NYTimes
bballer retweeted
Trump just made the claim that Venezuela personally gave him "a million barrels of oil," and he's giving it to America.
"We took over Venezuela very successfully, and they've sent me as a gift a boatload of a million barrels of oil, and I'm giving that to the United States of America."
bballer retweeted
Lou Gehrig reportedly had multiple concussions over course of his sports career.
But some experts now question whether or not Lou Gehrig actually had the disease that was named after him.
There is now evidence of an ALS-like disease associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the neurodegenerative disease thought to be caused by repetitive brain trauma.
Lou Gehrig played fullback on the football team at Columbia University, and he had a long history of concussions, including several incidents in which he lost consciousness.
Yet, he played through these injuries, setting a record for playing in 2,130 consecutive baseball games.
The odds of being diagnosed with ALS are around 38% higher in those who have a history of head injury compared to the general population.
Several studies show that the prevalence of ALS is higher in athletes, who are exposed to repetitive brain trauma in their sport.
Compared to the general population in the United States, mortality from ALS is more than four times higher in NFL football players.
Several studies have shown that the odds of dying from ALS are two to ten times higher in professional soccer players in Europe.
One study found that the longer a soccer player played professionally, the greater their risk of dying of ALS.
It is clear that a disease with ALS symptoms took Lou Gehrig`s life, but the underlying pathology that caused his symptoms has been questioned by experts in recent years.
Given his long history of brain trauma, it is possible that he may not have had ALS, the disease that is named after him, he may have had CTE with the motor neuron disease.
But without the ability to examine his brain and spinal cord, we will never know."
Julie Stamm.
Professer, Neuroscientist.
Lou Gehrig beaned in 1934, Norfolk, Va.
