It's a rainy Sunday here, about to turn to 4 to 7 inches of snow. Sorry for the lack of posting, I've been busy trying to assemble a few pieces of outdoor furniture for my balcony, listening to Spanish tapes and composing a "comment" for the FCC about whether it should eliminate the two year exemption for new television networks to comply with close-captioning rules, when the new network is part of a big network (like MundoFox.) The FEC's 153 page order of February, 2014 in which it requests comments is here. To submit a comment, start here. The proceeding is Case CG 05-231.

I think it's absurd that MundoFox doesn't have close captions, even in Spanish, on a multi-million show like "El Capo." (The only captions are when someone speaks in English, then they translate that.) El Capo is a production of MundoFox, RCN Television and Fox International. [More...]

I'm about to start watching "El Capo." Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I've got a busy work day today. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

My picks: UConn +6 1/2 over Florida, Kentucky -1 over Wisconsin.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

TalkLeft was down for 9 hours. There was an outage at the facility that hosts our server. No explanation yet from the company.

We do have a backup site where I post notices of outages (thankfully, they are rare.) You can also post comments there.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I've been offline today. Here's an open thread while I get caught up with the news. All topics welcome.

A busy day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

My picks: Connecticut +6½ over Michigan State, Kentucky -2 over Michigan.

Open Thread.

My picks: Dayton +10 over Florida, Arizona -2½ over Wisconsin.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

My picks: Connecticut +2 over Iowa State, Louisville -4 over Kentucky, Michigan -3 over Tennessee, Michigan State -2 over Virginia.

Open Thread.

My picks: UCLA +5 over Florida, Arizona -7½ over San Diego State, Dayton +3 over Stanford, Baylor +3½ over Wisconsin.

Go Gators!

Open thread, sort of.

I'm scared to death:

UCLA is on fire right now. The Bruins have beaten five NCAA tournament teams in their last five games, two of which are in the Sweet 16 (Arizona and Stanford). Florida has been great all season and the Gators have also recently beaten two Sweet 16 teams (Kentucky and Tennessee). But anybody who saw the three-game stretch of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Albany knows the Gators are far from the dominant force you’d expect a no. 1 overall seed to be.

Florida’s bread-and-butter is its defense, but UCLA’s offense has the weapons to defeat it. Anderson is a real problem, and Florida will be forced to work hard to neutralize him. Anderson alone might not be enough to top the Gators, but when you add Adams’s 17.4 points per game, Powell’s 11.5 points per game, and the versatility of the Wear twins, the Gators will have their hands full. If the Bruins can find success against Florida’s defense, they’ll force a Gator team that is susceptible to scoring droughts to keep up with them, and there’s no telling how that might turn out.Maybe UCLA doesn’t pull out the win, but the signs point to this being a great game, and the Bruins could be a bounce or two away from ending Florida’s 28-game winning streak[.]

That seems a fair assessment. Open Thread.