u/Shot_Inside_8629

I got a kick out of the discussion on the JM documentary re: JM being an unreliable narrator. I also totally agree that AI is really poor at football, which I find shocking. Maybe it’s because AI is US centric?
Anyway, I went down a rabbit hole on types of unreliable narrators and decided to engage AI on assessing JM. I thought this was entertaining (and possibly pretty accurate?)
Jose Mourinho functions as a real-world Picaro and Liar type of unreliable narrator in sports media.
Rather than telling an objective truth, Mourinho uses press conferences, post-match interviews, and public statements as a tactical tool. He shapes a highly subjective, self-serving narrative to protect his players, deflect blame from tactical failures, and manipulate the psychological state of opponents and referees—a practice widely known as "mind games." [1, 2, 3, 4]
How Mourinho Exhibits Unreliable Narration

The Picaro (The Exaggerator): He frames every narrative around his personal mythos as the "Special One." He magnifies his achievements while rewriting history to cast himself as a heroic figure fighting against corrupt or incompetent external forces (such as refereeing conspiracies or lack of club board support).
The Liar (Strategic Deception): He uses calculated deflection to protect his team. If his squad performs poorly, he will intentionally construct an outrageous headline or pick a fight with a journalist to ensure the media focuses entirely on his behavior rather than his players' mistakes.
Gaslighting the Audience: He frequently contradicts clear physical evidence. If his team loses decisively, his post-match narrative will often insist that his team completely dominated the match or that a single minor refereeing decision was the sole reason for the defeat.

Now that a bit of time has passed what chance do we really think Poch is still the manager for the US at the next World Cup?

Also a related question, where do you think being the US manager falls in desireability vs the Premier League? Mid or lower table?

I’ve watched Wes Anderson movies since his early days and The Royal Tennebaums is one of my favorite movies I don’t like his later movies as much but I do still appreciate the style and I’ll laugh at sections no one else does. Having read a lot of Pynchon in the last couple of years, it struck me while watching The Pheonician Scheme that his style seemed very much like Pynchon or at least I like both for the same reason. Definitely quirky, intelligent, artists having fun with their craft,etc. any other Wes Anderson fans out there?

Question - how accurate do people find the Garmin 5k race predictor?

I couldn’t believe Turkey couldn’t score for the second straight game. I don’t usually look up stats but their XG last night was over 2 goals off 32 shots - many of which were impatient long range. Being a man up and not being able to generate better chances is rough. I’ve never paid much attention to this stat and didn’t realize that it was calculated when the ball leaves the foot. But still that should take into account that it left the foot from a long distance. Regardless looks like Turkey, even though they are probably the second best team in the group, are decidedly OUT!

Our game vs Turkey won’t be as interesting now but Australia-Paraguay should have some drama.

Cleaning up nonsense
I loved seeing the red card for Almirón covering his mouth. Players do this instinctively so it will take a while to see how adult learning takes hold.
I also like how this tournament has been refereed - letting the game flow but then not hesitating to hand out appropriately colored cards.

What Pynchon’s most “fun” book to read and why?

Has anyone found 50m splits for the 400? To me it looks like 400m runners smoothly accelerate out of the blocks and up to top speed (compared to the 100/200m start).
I feel like I either go out too hard or too slow and haven’t gotten optimal pacing right. I’d like to find pacing, adjust to my own times and practice the first 200-250m in practice.