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Eastern Conference Metropolitan Division The top of the division will once again belong to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes. After that, it feels wide open. The Capitals had a nice offseason, including bringing Ovi back for at least one more year. As for the rest: New Jersey Devils: It feels like year 10 of “this is the year they get over the hump.” New York Rangers: Did a nice job filling out a thin roster, though my trust level in the front office and coaching staff isn’t quite there. New York Islanders: Their future looks bright, but the NHL roster isn’t there yet. Philadelphia Flyers: I still don’t buy that last year’s run was real. Columbus Blue Jackets: The sleeper team everyone will look past. I actually like them and think they’ll hang around the playoff race for most of the year before coming up just short. Pittsburgh Penguins: Props for what they did last year, but “regression” will be the defining word of their season. Top 3 Playoffs: ...

Before I get into my guessing game, let’s look back at my regular season predictions . I got eight of the twelve playoff teams right, including five of six in the NL. Of course, the Mets were my one miss, but my World Series prediction of the Dodgers beating the Yankees is right there. Now we look forward to what I expect will be a great postseason. My theme for my picks will lead us right back to where I was in March: pitching! ...

Open Secret: Major league teams skirt the rule that they can’t sign a prospect until he’s 16 by offering boys as young as 11 handshake deals, in some cases for millions of dollars. Stolen Promises: With enormous sums promised to poor families, moneylenders exploit them by offering loans at exorbitant interest rates and find ways to scam them. Source: Pro-Publica I am a huge sports fan, and that always comes with the knowledge that there is a dark side of the business we just have to ignore to enjoy it. With that said it feels like we are hitting a tipping point as day after day the stories being told become harder and harder to push aside. With the amount of money franchines are costing I fear what comes next. ...

It’s that time of year again where on the Wednesday after Labor Day where we all say “The NFL is back”! Wait, what? Wednesday? Of course the NFL keeps taking more nights, but the people keep watching so here are my predictions for the season. AFC Division Winners East: Bills North: Ravens South: Texans West: Chargers AFC Wildcard Teams Broncos Patriots Bengals NFC Division Winners East: Cowboys North: Lions South: Buccaneers West: Seahawks NFC Wildcard Teams Eagles Rams Packers Superbowl Predictions Buffalo Bills over the Seattle Seahawks

The start of college football is here which means it’s time for what the world is waiting for! My college football predictions that will be very very wrong. Most prognosticators have a good grasp of the top, but I do think we see some craziness near the bottom of the top 12. Most interesting to me will be at the top of the group of five to determine who grabs the number twelve spot. ...

Erykah Badu and The Alchemist released their long-awaited collaborative album, Before the World Blows, digitally on August 28, 2026, after spending 18 months recording between Dallas and Los Angeles. The 16-track project includes “Next 2 U” and “Witch Doctor,” with guests including Westside Gunn, Earl Sweatshirt, Thundercat, Steve Lacy, DRAM, Kamasi Washington, and Joi. After false starts and cryptic teasers, the duo will support the album with a North American tour featuring De La Soul and Smino on select dates across the 2026–2027 cycle. ...

over one-third of pages published after ChatGPT was released on November 22nd, 2022, “were likely written or substantially edited by AI.” Source: The Verge AI Slop is just one part of what is going to destroy the open web, but it will be another nail in the coffin. The biggest nail is still search engines not linking out to sources instead just summarizing and giving overviews or as The Verge calls it Google Zero . ...

Once upon a time, I thought nothing could be worse than the proliferation of websites driven by SEO. That was before I learned of the existence of AEO: answer engine optimization. In my day, I could get lost in the glorious SI Vault; now I can find those old gems only if I know exactly what to search for and deploy the Wayback Machine. Not all of this is specifically Google’s fault. But the company’s new priorities seem like they’ll only exacerbate the general state of dilapidation online. ...

This doesn’t mean that AI doesn’t work or is useless. But it does emphasize an important truth: AI is not a magic “infinity machine” that can solve all our problems, and ultimately deliver us a sense of meaning in a cold, confusing world. It’s a normal technology, and perhaps it’s time we start talking about it that way. Source: Cal Newport Newsletter Today’s newsletter is based on a few emails Newport got from a software engineer, and is telling a story over months that I am sure we will hear again and again from many others. Like most things, groups of people have lined up on the two extreme sides. Either you turned your life over to a language generating machine, or you think the technology is useless. Of course in the end the truth lies in the middle, and finding that middle is important. ...

A short post to talk about the joy of sports. It has now been just over seven weeks since the Knicks won the championship, and everyday I still see a video or post go by about the win that brings an instant smile to my face. I still see people commenting to each other “go Knicks” walking by each other in the streets of New York if they notice a certain hat or shirt on. In a world that can be so negative and cruel the Knicks winning truly was the perfect anecdote. ...