The unkindest quip I’ve read about the 2026 Los Angeles Sparks is that their offense mostly devolves into four people standing around while Kelsey Plum dribbles. Which isn’t much different from my suggestion for how to beat them: Don’t let Plum share the ball. Even if Plum scorches her lone defender, you’re better off. Consider: In Plum’s three worst assist games — 2 vs. LV, 4 vs. IND, 6 vs. DAL — the Sparks are 0-3, even though Plum shot a smoking 58% (29-for-50). The rest of the team shot .421 on 64-for-152. In the Sparks’ other seven games, in …
On Alan Rickman’s birthday
On Alan Rickman’s birthday, I’ll say that I imagine in Galaxy Quest fandom, there’s a rift that’ll never be fixed. Half the fandom thinks it’s the “sons of Warvan”, as though Warvan was a patriarch. The other half thinks it’s the “suns of Warvan”, like Warvan is a planet. I think it’s suns of Warvan, for two reasons. One, since Grabthar’s hammer is a lifeless object, why not point the other half of the oath in a similar direction. Two, we don’t know anything about Warvan, or his sons. Even though Dr. Lazarus is one of the greatest characters ever …
South Park has the Kaden Rummler shooting covered
Kaden Rummler, 21, was shot in the face and blinded in the left eye during a protest rally Friday in Santa Ana. Department of Homeland Security officials said federal agents were defending themselves when the rally turned violent, while local officials and witnesses said the rally was peaceful until feds started making arrests. South Park already has the pieces in place for this: South Park for years has mocked “stand your ground” laws by enabling gun nuts Jimbo and Ned to shoot _anything_ as long as they first say “It’s coming right for us!”. South Park also depicts homeland security …
Thomas-Keres, Margate 1937
The best way to practice chess is not playing chess. Playing chess is kiddie funsies time, but if you want to improve your play, the best practice is to play through a master game, guessing the winner’s moves as you go. Cover the gamescore, play through the opening without guessing (trying to guess a master’s opening play will drive you crazy, and is not beneficial), start guessing around move 10 or 12 (sooner if an original position arises early) by playing the move on the board (so you’re committed to it), then uncovering the move actually played. If you guess …
Wristwatches
Yesterday afternoon, I stopped on the freeway ramp to assist a stranded motorist, who offered me his bling and his watch if I’d help him get to Florida. Too weird to be true, and maybe he was working a scam. The funny thing is I look at ads for watches all day, because if you look at one ad for a gizmo, you’ll see all the ads for gizmos. Maybe I should’ve taken a closer look at that guy’s watch. I noticed a chessplayer wearing a wristwatch last week, and I thought: Who wears a wristwatch these days, when the …
Cal 60 Pacific 52
Last November, I was renting a room in the Adams Point neighborhood in Oakland, walking distance from the 19th St. BART station. A 10-minute BART ride puts one in Downtown Berkeley, walking distance from Haas Pavilion. I needed Pacific to visit Cal *last* season. During the WNBA season, the Golden Bears visited Chase Center one night for a Valkyries game. Coach Smith was working the crowd waiting in line, and I got her attention. Coach Smith kinda knows me, from Stanford and from Cal, but I don’t think she’s ever seen me in the same context twice. Sometimes I’ve been …
UCLA 73 Oklahoma 59
Mismatches like UCLA 87, UCSB 50 and Maryland 87, Maryland-Baltimore County 50 make me wish I’d waited for conference play, but UCLA 73, Oklahoma 59 on Monday makes November watchable (and man, I’m disappointed about missing USC 69, NC State 68 due to spoilage). God help me, I’m allegiant to TWO Los Angeles sports teams. When Gianna Kneepkens entered the transfer portal, I committed myself to whichever team she joined. Honest, I’m OK with her going to UCLA — the Bruins are a Pac-12 all-star team, and Coach Close is the best sideline interview in the NCAA. With practice, any …
Northwestern 67 IU-Indianapolis 64
The Jaguars missed the tying free throw with 7 seconds left, and the host Wildcats survived. Neither team was good at the line. IU Indianapolis shot 67%, Northwestern made 3 for their first 8, then 5-of-7 in the 4th quarter. NU senior forward Grace Sullivan completed a double right after halftime, and finished with 18 and 18. Even at 6-foot-4, Sullivan averaged 4.3 rebounds in 23.6 minutes last year. Until this afternoon, the only team I had any interest in was Menlo HS (Menlo Park, Calif.), with an assistant coach who’s a chess expert. Without reflection or sentiment, I thought …
The 2026 Volkswagen is neither a Karmann nor a Ghia
I haven’t yet heard a Volkswagen enthusiast object to this new car’s name. The Karmann Ghia (1955-74) is the most beautiful car ever made. So simply elegant, sexy and sporty-looking (with that lame but lovely 4-speed air-cooled engine that’s better suited to lawnmowers), the Karmann Ghia was a perfect blend of German engineering and Italian design. After the Volkswagen Beetle was a hit — cute, cheap, reliable — VW thought to make a sister for the Beetle that looked like a sports car. The Carrozzerria Ghia design firm in Turin was tasked with its looks, while VW engineers figured out …
Two triangulation compositions
Every chessplayer will remember being dismissive first than delighted at Reti’s famous 1921 composition. White to play and draw looks like an impossible task, because the black pawn is out of reach, while the c6-pawn can be captured. The triangulation scheme recurs in the second position, which I came across as a tactics puzzle (composition by Ernst Frederick Holm, Deutsche Schachzeitung, Jan. 1913). If Black plays …Bh3-g2, it’s a draw. First White obstructs the bishop.