I think everyone recognizes that the mistake was in the process. Not enough quarantine time, all the rest. To some extent they screwed up. At the same time, as far as we know not a single player is even sick, let alone hospitalized, let alone in danger of losing his life. If any of those things happens, even once, it would be a PR disaster, but the odds are pretty low. A dozen or so asymptomatic guys does not a public health crisis make. But however you feel about all that, the bubble is now a couple weeks old. Every day in the bubble makes more positive tests less and less likely. To me, the biggest mistake was giving in to the players; the league wanted to bring them in a month ago but they didnt want to spend that much time away from home, and part of the deal they negotiated with MLS was a 2 week delay which, among other thjngs, would have accomodated a 14 day quarantine after a positive test and still gotten them out on the field. Point is, although they messed it up in the beginning, theres not mu h to be gained by shutting it down now.
But with teams still flying in this week, is the bubble really secure? Colorado flew in yesterday. They can be in a bubble in Colorado but there are interactions outside their bubble to get from Colorado to Orlando. Now you are introducing a new group into the bubble that, technically, was at Day Zero of quarantine.
Agree completely. I suppose they can put players in body condoms or soak down the plane and the cars in Chlorox but in principle you are 100% correct: for any team playing against Colorado, the bubble is now 24 hours old. On a previous point, the drive-in watch party may be a league initiative/suggestion/idea. Some other teams are trying it as well. As to this tournament thing overall, I think there's a larger point here that we're not mentioning, what comes next. The whole thing was planned on the assumption that they needed to be ready to go as the situation improved. They sensibly didn't want to wait until a national "all clear" was sounded and THEN try to put together a preseason. They were trying to cheat the curve and, logistics aside, it arguably made sense. But with the uptick in positive test results, the politicians are back to shutting things down, in which case the whole point is moot; we'll get to the end of the thing, everybody flies home and goes back inside, accomplishing nothing. And THAT, I would posit, is much more disturbing to the league than a few healthy looking and feeling guys who tested positive on a test swab. Yes, a big part of this whole thing is to avoid having to make-up or give-back to advertisers and sponsors who are promised certain metrics and exposures, but not being able to start the season up afterwards is just digging the hole again. What this means for us Flavortown Crew fans is hard to say, but surely by next March every man woman, child and circus animal in the US can be tested five times.
We got the word last week that we're never going back to our previous building. I can't even remember if I left anything in my office but it's work from home permanently now. The company loves wfh. Attendance is better, no rent or utility bills to pay, etc.
So it would be worth discussing with an accountant if that entitles you make deductions for a home office from your taxes. I know there are additional restrictions, like it needing to be a dedicated space and other stuff.
Will you be allowed to go back to pick stuff up?? I'm not, at this time, though I was able to request an item be sent to me (my wrist rest for my keyboard) as it was an "essential item". But my plant wasn't "essential" (they do supposedly have a watering team). Or my Lamar signed ball. I'd completely clean out my office if I had the chance. But we all thought we'd be back in a couple of weeks.... At the time, I didn't want to grab my plant, as it was fairly cold outside and I had no place to put it.
We've been told not to expect a change in our work situation until September 15th at the earliest, and that they company is developing plans on a site-by-site basis. All of that makes sense, and I'm ok with. We're allowed to go grab something from the office if need be, but there are a lot of hoops to jump through so I'll leave my drawer full of ramen and snacks where it is. Interestingly: We can apply for hardship returns. If working from home is causing undue stress or difficulty in a person's life, they can apply to go back to the office early.
In a word, no. The tax law changes in 2018 made it impossible for an employee to claim a home office deduction. (The self employed still can, with the exclusivity caveats previously mentioned). Previously, as long as your employer did not provide you with a work space you could claim it. No more. It does not matter to the IRS exactly why it is youre working from home. As long as you are someone else's employee, you can't claim jack squat. This is pretty new and not widely kmown yet but its a fact.
My son's job has kept him going to the office every other week, and often visiting other offices. He said there are an incredible number of dead plants around there.
yeah, we can make an appointment with our building services team to get in before the end of the month to pick stuff up. I didn't have much personal stuff in my office but my boss next door is a big Titans fan and had Eddie George posters, helmets, etc in his. Yeah, they should give everyone $25 or $50 per month for their broadband costs. But they don't. Instead they pay my Iphone bill so I can receive 3 AM texts from the other side of the world that I notice at 8 AM.
Is Nashville still planning to play? Or to put it another way, is MLS going to keep Nashville in the tournament after 8 positive tests?
All I can say is that MLS is writing the book for the NHL and NBA on what not to do. Mind you, most of it is simply getting there sooner.
https://deadspin.com/what-exactly-i...ium=sharefromsite&utm_source=deadspin_twitter I swear this league makes it so hard to be a fan sometimes. "ThEn sToP beINg A FaN!" Ok, bro. Can someone tell me what the point is of having a Doctor as the owner of the team if he is just gonna send the players into a hornets nest of disease and risk their careers for pocket change?
Hang, I love you. You're one of the most wise, reasonable, and well read people I know. For the love of God, man, stop reading Deadspin MLS pieces.
My company - the incoming CEO and my specific Group President - have mentioned that if this goes more than a year, or becomes permanent, there will be stipends given for both internet access and electricity. I'll believe it when it shows up on my check, but at least they're thinking about it.
I LOVE YOU TOO, my favorite Drudge Report reading poster!!!! I expected this sort of response, and honestly I don't read much, if any Deadspin. (I was honestly surprised it still existed! I thought it went under!). But this was brought to my attention, and really....what is the end game? Does anyone know? Does anyone care?
I don't know what MLS' endgame is beyond maintaining relevance and revenue, but I do know that not even Will Leitch reads Deadspin anymore.
Maybe not. But, I don't subscribe to the Trumpist theory that ratings or view numbers are what makes things right. If a point is worth sharing, it's worth sharing regardless of the outlet.