Shebengal

I have buried somewhere a picture of me and Ken Anderson from the Touchdown Club dinner in 1992. I'll have to see if I can dig it out.

Good point.

If Pete Hegseth's nomination didn't scare you before, this article will. https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/politics/elections/2025/01/13/pete-hegseth-nomination-is-milestone-for-doug-wilsons-church-movement/76947642007/?tbref=hp I LOVE the way that the pastoral intern for Hegseth's church says that this appointment is "Replacing degenerates with God-fearing Christian men." and "Trump's Whjte House will be staffed by (at least some) faithful, God-fearing Christians who will be advising President Trump and wielding political power." Really??? He's calling an accused sexual abuser and womanizer a God-fearing Christian man? He's calling Trump a God-fearing Christian man? This "Christian" movement seems to want to eliminate the rights and progress that women have made over the years. He's probably frothing at the mouth about the women that Trump has nominated to his Cabinet and/or in other leadership positions.

Good information. Thanks for posting. Rumors are swirling in Cleveland that Bitonio may retire so that would give them a little cap relief, but over 25% of your cap wrapped up in an injury-ridden QB?? YIKES!

Nice tree. As for my office tree, the majority of feedback I got was to leave it up, so it’s staying up until the Bengals lose or I retire, which ever comes first.

And yet hubby drafts Herbert for his FF team every year if he’s available. 😂😂

I’ve been telling my hubby that ever since he was drafted!! 😂

I was more a fan of Tickle Pink. 🍷

Nope. Canei. Note: I wasn’t old enough to be drinking wine yet, either.

I’m going to claim ignorance on how injury settlements work. I get that it may help offset some of the costs, but wouldn’t Cleveland still be on the hook for the rest?

I asked a friend of mine who’s a Bears fan his thoughts on Eberflus. His response was “Not much.” He thought he was too indecisive.

Damn, I’m getting old! So what you’re saying is that it’s been 43 years since I celebrated that win by drinking a cheap bottle of wine with a friend while sitting in the top stairwell of my dorm? (Note: Said friend didn’t follow football at all but didn’t want me drinking alone. Now that’s a friend!)

Thanks, Homer. I could rant all day about the indignities of the housing industry. I will say that some reforms did come out of the housing collapse, some good, some not so good. Underwriting standards got more strict. But one of the protections passed by the CFPB was a revamping of the document that you get at closing that outlines all of your charges. They changed it to make it more transparent and easier to understand. It did just the opposite, at least for the Columbus market. Also, they instituted a rule that consumers were required to have this form 3 days prior to closing. Those of us in the title industry rejoiced because we naively believed that this would end the practice of getting closing documents an hour before closing, or eliminate the calls to close within a day (or sooner) of receiving final approval. Little did we know. There are some banks who enforce this rule. There are a lot more lenders who consider a “ preliminary” closing disclosure issued early in the process as their compliance with TRID. (The rule.) So our job was not made easier.

I wasn't going to say that, but the thought did cross my mind.

I wonder how he managed to rupture it again. Too overzealous in his rehab?

Interesting read. Sherrod Brown voted against NAFTA, but people forgot that. I also agree that the Obama administration was way too soft on the financial institutions that crashed the housing market. Not one single person was indicted, let alone convicted for that. All it did was enrich people like Wilbur Ross and Steven Mnuchin (both former members of Trump's Cabinet) and big market landlords. However, the beginnings of the housing market issues began with the Clinton administration and his belief that everyone should own a home. I remember in 1998, "non profit" companies started springing up that would allow sellers to legally fund down payments for their buyers. The way it worked was that sellers would make a 3% contribution to these "non profit corporations" plus a service fee, and the "non profit corporations" would then "contribute" it to the buyers. The "contribution" would be added to the sales price. All perfectly legal, and for one of these programs, I had to actually go to a training and become certified to close these transactions. I remember thinking at the time that this was a bad idea. Then, builders got a hold of this and started incorporating it into their programs, and also would agree to pay for closing costs and/or buydowns on the interest rate, sometimes on adjustable rate loans, for their buyers, again, all added to the sales price of the home. The lenders would qualify the buyers on the initial interest rate and not the final interest rate, with the assumption that the buyer's income would increase commensurate with the increase in the rate. They would also use the land value for taxes instead of the full value of the property. By year 3, with taxes fully assessed and the final interest rate being charged, the buyers would find themselves in a hole, but they couldn't sell the property because the builder was still building homes in the development and offering the "attractive" financing. That's why, at least here in Columbus, you saw so many "new slums" for awhile. Then you add in the "liar loans" and 80%-20% financing that was running rampant in the early 2000s, and it was a perfect storm for a housing crash. And no one was held accountable. It got to the point where I could look at a transaction and say "Yep, they'll be in foreclosure in a year." The Columbus Dispatch did a whole series of stories on this back in 2005, before the housing crash, and one of the buyers was quoted as saying, "As I was signing the paperwork, I was thinking this was a bad idea." Well, then, why did you sign the paperwork?" After the housing crash, the Dispatch revisited this and interviewed someone who had lost her house to foreclosure. I had handled her transaction and I remember that she had walked out of the closing with a check, never a good sign. Sorry to get off on a tangent like this, but this still burns me.

I'm surprised that Trump hasn't included these in his line of merchandise. If he can sell Bibles, watches, and sneakers, why not knee pads?

I'm not going to watch either.

Wow! Really sending the cream of the crop to jolly ol' England, aren't we??

I can't stand the thought of rooting for either team, but I hope the Ravens crush the Stealers. I feel dirty now.

I'm not surprised you would discount this report. I'm just surprised you didn't dismiss it as the work of "evil liberal elites". I would be curious to know the percentage of conservative, liberal, and moderate scholars who weighed in on this. Because if I'm reading the report correctly, even conservatives weren't too enthused with Trump. Overall, I found it interesting.

It sure does, and I'm sure all 3 of these players would trade their awards for a playoff berth.

Sorry. Now that's funny!

Better arm, better mobility, better physical attributes overall. Also, hubby thinks that Burrow benefits from having great receivers. But what Herbert doesn't have, and I have told my husband this from day 1, is that "It" factor that separates the very good from the great. Burrow has that "It" factor. That's what tips the scales in Burrow's favor.

I keep telling him that.