On a personal note, my best moments of the decade were meeting my future wife, getting married, my children being born, and the Nats winning the World Series in chronological order.
The worst moments were my mom having a heart attack and election night 2016. There were also low moments at the start of the decade when I was going through moments of personal discovery.
All in all, this was the best decade of my life.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Monday, December 30, 2019
Nats All-Decade Team
C Wilson Ramos
1B Ryan Zimmerman
2B Daniel Murphy
SS Trea Turner
3B Anthony Rendon
LF Jayson Werth
CF Denard Span
RF Bryce Harper
SP Max Scherzer
SP Stephen Strasburg
SP Gio Gonzalez
RP Sean Doolittle
1B Ryan Zimmerman
2B Daniel Murphy
SS Trea Turner
3B Anthony Rendon
LF Jayson Werth
CF Denard Span
RF Bryce Harper
SP Max Scherzer
SP Stephen Strasburg
SP Gio Gonzalez
RP Sean Doolittle
Sunday, December 29, 2019
World Leader Power Rankings: Year in Review
Below are the power rankings for world leaders for the overall year. Some explanation of the chart is probably necessary. In this the second year of the World Leader Power Rankings, there were nine top ten lists. 31 world leaders from 30 countries made the list at some point this year. Xi Jianping swept the top spot again.
The "Score" is based on the leaders' ranking on those lists- 10 points for a 1st place finish on a list and so on, then the total score divided by 9. "on List" is the number of times a leader made the top ten list. "High" is the leader's highest rank on any one list and "low" is the lowest rank. Leaders who didn't make the list at least once will have a dash by Low.
1. Xi dominated this year with the fading of the U.S. and the EU. But Xi's terrible treatment of the Uyghurs has brought China back to the back a bit.
2. Putin's man in the White House has been impeached and now there is heightened focus on Russia's actions in Ukraine. Yet, Putin's war in Ukraine even allowed Trump to try to bully Zelensky.
3. Kim started the year as a boogeyman who outwitted Trump. But he was quieter by the end of the year.
4. Ardern had a big year as a champion for liberal values and gun reform.
5. Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize attempting to reform his country.
6. Erdogan had an up-and-down year. He got back to the spotlight when the U.S. pulled out of Syrian and left the Kurds to fend for themselves.
7. Zelensky won the Ukraine presidency and then vaulted into the world spotlight and was indirectly responsible for the impeachment of a U.S. president.
8. Khamenei had brief pockets of notoriety on the world scene, but the Iranian economy isn't doing so well.
9. Macron had some moments of sticking up for liberal values this year.
10. Boris Johnson rallied at the end of the year with an unlikely landslide victory and a chance to get Brexit done.
11. Modi would be higher on the list if his administration wasn't so anti-Muslim.
12. Rasmussen made the list thanks to the good governance and freedom indexes his country enjoys.
13. Abe did well to make a trade deal witht eh EU since the U.S. seems to be anti-free trade. But Kim made him look like a bit of a fool.
14. Nana made the list because his country is relatively free and encourages female entrepreneurship.
15. Varadkar stuck it to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during a meeting.
16. Netanyahu looked poised to form a government in the spring. Whoops. He didn't have a good year otherwise.
17. Trudeau got bad press for his scandal and his black face, but he won an election bigly regardless.
18. Masisi feuded with his predecessor, who happens to be the son of the Father of Botswana, an indication of the health of his country's democracy.
19. AMLO assumed the presidency of Mexico and had a promising, if not transformative year.
20. Marquez briefly helped the Venezuelan crisis.
21. Niinisto oversaw the happiest country in the world. The people in Finland didn't agree with the designation, but then, they don't realize how miserable the rest of us are.
22. Burhan isn't Omar al-Bashir, which was good enough to make the list.
23.Alvarado rules the most prosperous country in Central America.
24. Trump did not have a good year and managed to weaken the U.S. greatly on the world stage. Then he got impeached.
25. Moreno made the list when he booted out Julian Assange out of his embassy in London and then insulted him.
26. Bukele had a good interview on 60 Minutes. Who am I going to pick instead, that murderer Rodrigo Duterte?
27. The King met Harry and Meghan. That murderer Duterte didn't meet them.
28. Theresa May kept getting extensions on Brexit, but eventually not on her position as Prime Minister.
29. Pelligrini's government paid rent in Trump's buildings which means Pelligrini had sway over the impeached president.
30. Sultan Qaboos decreased corruption. Of course, he was the reason it was so high to begin with.
31. Lourenco could be worse. He could be that murderer Duterte.
The "Score" is based on the leaders' ranking on those lists- 10 points for a 1st place finish on a list and so on, then the total score divided by 9. "on List" is the number of times a leader made the top ten list. "High" is the leader's highest rank on any one list and "low" is the lowest rank. Leaders who didn't make the list at least once will have a dash by Low.
| Rank | Leader | Country | Score | On List | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xi Jiangping | China | 10 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Vladimir Putin | Russia | 8.4 | 9 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Kim Jong-un | North Korea | 7.7 | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| 4 | Jacinda Ardern | New Zealand | 6.3 | 9 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | Abiy Ahmed | Ethiopia | 5 | 9 | 5 | 8 |
| 6 | Recep Erdogan | Turkey | 2.6 | 3 | 4 | - |
| 7 | Volodymyr Zelensky | Ukraine | 1.9 | 4 | 5 | - |
| 8 | Ali Khamenei | Iran | 1.6 | 3 | 4 | - |
| 9 | Emmanuel Macron | France | 1.1 | 2 | 4 | - |
| 10 | Boris Johnson | United Kingdom | 0.9 | 1 | 3 | - |
| 11 | Narendra Modi | India | 0.8 | 2 | 6 | - |
| 12 | Lars Løkke Rasmussen | Denmark | 0.8 | 2 | 7 | - |
| 13 | Shinzo Abe | Japan | 0.7 | 3 | 8 | - |
| 14 | Nana Akufo-Addo | Ghana | 0.7 | 2 | 7 | - |
| 15 | Leo Varadkar | Ireland | 0.7 | 1 | 5 | - |
| 16 | Benjamin Netanyahu | Israel | 0.7 | 1 | 5 | - |
| 17 | Justin Trudeau | Canada | 0.6 | 2 | 7 | - |
| 18 | Mokgweetsi Masisi | Botswana | 0.6 | 2 | 8 | - |
| 19 | Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador | Mexico | 0.6 | 2 | 8 | - |
| 20 | Ivan Duque Marquez | Colombia | 0.6 | 1 | 6 | - |
| 21 | Sauli Niinisto | Finland | 0.4 | 1 | 7 | - |
| 22 | Abdel al-Burhan | Sudan | 0.4 | 1 | 7 | - |
| 23 | Carlos Alvarado | Costa Rica | 0.4 | 1 | 7 | - |
| 24 | Donald Trump | United States | 0.3 | 3 | 10 | - |
| 25 | Lenin Moreno | Ecuador | 0.3 | 1 | 8 | - |
| 26 | Nayib Bukele | El Salvador | 0.3 | 1 | 8 | - |
| 27 | King Mohammad VI | Morocco | 0.2 | 1 | 9 | - |
| 28 | Theresa May | United Kingdom | 0.2 | 1 | 9 | - |
| 29 | Peter Pelligrini | Slovakia | 0.1 | 1 | 10 | - |
| 30 | Sultan Qaboos | Oman | 0.1 | 1 | 10 | - |
| 31 | Joao Lourenco | Angola | 0.1 | 1 | 10 | - |
1. Xi dominated this year with the fading of the U.S. and the EU. But Xi's terrible treatment of the Uyghurs has brought China back to the back a bit.
2. Putin's man in the White House has been impeached and now there is heightened focus on Russia's actions in Ukraine. Yet, Putin's war in Ukraine even allowed Trump to try to bully Zelensky.
3. Kim started the year as a boogeyman who outwitted Trump. But he was quieter by the end of the year.
4. Ardern had a big year as a champion for liberal values and gun reform.
5. Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize attempting to reform his country.
6. Erdogan had an up-and-down year. He got back to the spotlight when the U.S. pulled out of Syrian and left the Kurds to fend for themselves.
7. Zelensky won the Ukraine presidency and then vaulted into the world spotlight and was indirectly responsible for the impeachment of a U.S. president.
8. Khamenei had brief pockets of notoriety on the world scene, but the Iranian economy isn't doing so well.
9. Macron had some moments of sticking up for liberal values this year.
10. Boris Johnson rallied at the end of the year with an unlikely landslide victory and a chance to get Brexit done.
11. Modi would be higher on the list if his administration wasn't so anti-Muslim.
12. Rasmussen made the list thanks to the good governance and freedom indexes his country enjoys.
13. Abe did well to make a trade deal witht eh EU since the U.S. seems to be anti-free trade. But Kim made him look like a bit of a fool.
14. Nana made the list because his country is relatively free and encourages female entrepreneurship.
15. Varadkar stuck it to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence during a meeting.
16. Netanyahu looked poised to form a government in the spring. Whoops. He didn't have a good year otherwise.
17. Trudeau got bad press for his scandal and his black face, but he won an election bigly regardless.
18. Masisi feuded with his predecessor, who happens to be the son of the Father of Botswana, an indication of the health of his country's democracy.
19. AMLO assumed the presidency of Mexico and had a promising, if not transformative year.
20. Marquez briefly helped the Venezuelan crisis.
21. Niinisto oversaw the happiest country in the world. The people in Finland didn't agree with the designation, but then, they don't realize how miserable the rest of us are.
22. Burhan isn't Omar al-Bashir, which was good enough to make the list.
23.Alvarado rules the most prosperous country in Central America.
24. Trump did not have a good year and managed to weaken the U.S. greatly on the world stage. Then he got impeached.
25. Moreno made the list when he booted out Julian Assange out of his embassy in London and then insulted him.
26. Bukele had a good interview on 60 Minutes. Who am I going to pick instead, that murderer Rodrigo Duterte?
27. The King met Harry and Meghan. That murderer Duterte didn't meet them.
28. Theresa May kept getting extensions on Brexit, but eventually not on her position as Prime Minister.
29. Pelligrini's government paid rent in Trump's buildings which means Pelligrini had sway over the impeached president.
30. Sultan Qaboos decreased corruption. Of course, he was the reason it was so high to begin with.
31. Lourenco could be worse. He could be that murderer Duterte.
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Top Ten Pound-for-Pound
Here's my pound-for-pound list. I take into account ability and accomplishment. The previous list was posted on July 3, 2019.
1. Saul Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) [1]
2. Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) [3]
3. Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs) [2]
4. Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) [4]
5. Errol Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) [8]
6. Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) [5]
7. Olexandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) [7]
8. Leo Santa Cruz (36-1-1, 19 KOs) [6]
9. Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) [Not ranked]
10. Jose Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) [Not ranked]
Exiting the list:
Mikey Garcia (38-1, 30 KOs) [9]
Olexandr Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) [10]
1. Only Pacquiao has a better resume than Canelo, but Canelo is in his prime. he just moved up to take a light heavyweight belt against a top 3 fighter in the division. The other guys on the top ten list haven't fought anywhere near the level of competition as the Canelo. Canelo's skills have improved greatly and he has a very tough chin.
2. While Campbell didn't have the pro success to add too much to Loma's resume, he was much bigger and had a great amount of amateur success. He's a featherweight who's cleaning out the lightweight division.
3. Inoue won the World Boxing Super Series with a tough victory over former pound-for-pound veteran Nonito Donaire. It's one of those wins that will probably look better as time goes by. It was a real test for Inoue and he showed his mettle. The problem is I expected him to blast Donaire out of there as Inoue has done to everyone else. Donaire crawled into the final, but impressed, so perhaps Donaire is still that good, or maybe I overrated Inoue.
4. Crawford is undeniably skilled. Good for him and his family for making money feasting on a certain level of competition. But for the pound-for-pound list, he has to start facing top level guys. ESPN embarrassingly tried to promote Amir Khan as an elite opponent. Yeah, maybe in 2010. For now, it's hard to argue Crawford is #1 because even Inoue- in about half the bouts- has fought tougher guys.
5. Spence has been fighting better opponents than Crawford. He won a close decision over Porter, a legit top 20 pound-for-pound fighter. I liek Crawford's ability and multiple dimensions, but Spence's size and strength could carry the day against Crawford. Let's make it happen!
6. Golovkin won a close decision over Derevyanchenko. The latter is a good fighter, but a prime GGG wipes him out. Spence's win over Porter is the better victory and he's had more recent success against better fighters than Golovkin.
7. Usyk moved up to heavyweight and beat a journeymen. The former cruiserweight champ should make some noise at heavyweight despite being undersized.
8. It has been a year and half since he beat Mares and three years since he avenged his lone defeat and beat Carl Frampton. His level of competition has fallen and he might exit the top ten without a good win in 2020.
9. Taylor took a close decision against Regis Prograis, who was a top 15 pound-for-pound fighter. He also has a victory over Viktor Postol, which was Crawford's toughest opponent by far.
10. Ramirez had three wins over good opponents before beating Maurice Hooker impressively in July. I'd love to see Ramirez against Taylor or Prograis. Instead, he's facing Viktor Postol in February.
Exiting: Garcia hasn't fought since his disappointing loss to Spence. He's #11. Gvozdyk lost to Artur Beterbiev, who is a top 20 guy despite his crude style because of his power. I'd like to see Beterbiev face Bivol. The winner would likely make the top 10 list.
Honorable mentions:
In addition to Beterbiev and Bivol, Pacquiao deserves a mention. So do Gervonta Davis, Juan Francisco Estrada, and Gary Russell. I'd also like to see those 122 pound guys (Navarrete, Roman, Rigondeaux, and Vargas) sort themselves out. A couple wins by those guys would likely put them on the list.
1. Saul Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) [1]
2. Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) [3]
3. Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs) [2]
4. Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) [4]
5. Errol Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) [8]
6. Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) [5]
7. Olexandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) [7]
8. Leo Santa Cruz (36-1-1, 19 KOs) [6]
9. Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) [Not ranked]
10. Jose Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) [Not ranked]
Exiting the list:
Mikey Garcia (38-1, 30 KOs) [9]
Olexandr Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) [10]
1. Only Pacquiao has a better resume than Canelo, but Canelo is in his prime. he just moved up to take a light heavyweight belt against a top 3 fighter in the division. The other guys on the top ten list haven't fought anywhere near the level of competition as the Canelo. Canelo's skills have improved greatly and he has a very tough chin.
2. While Campbell didn't have the pro success to add too much to Loma's resume, he was much bigger and had a great amount of amateur success. He's a featherweight who's cleaning out the lightweight division.
3. Inoue won the World Boxing Super Series with a tough victory over former pound-for-pound veteran Nonito Donaire. It's one of those wins that will probably look better as time goes by. It was a real test for Inoue and he showed his mettle. The problem is I expected him to blast Donaire out of there as Inoue has done to everyone else. Donaire crawled into the final, but impressed, so perhaps Donaire is still that good, or maybe I overrated Inoue.
4. Crawford is undeniably skilled. Good for him and his family for making money feasting on a certain level of competition. But for the pound-for-pound list, he has to start facing top level guys. ESPN embarrassingly tried to promote Amir Khan as an elite opponent. Yeah, maybe in 2010. For now, it's hard to argue Crawford is #1 because even Inoue- in about half the bouts- has fought tougher guys.
5. Spence has been fighting better opponents than Crawford. He won a close decision over Porter, a legit top 20 pound-for-pound fighter. I liek Crawford's ability and multiple dimensions, but Spence's size and strength could carry the day against Crawford. Let's make it happen!
6. Golovkin won a close decision over Derevyanchenko. The latter is a good fighter, but a prime GGG wipes him out. Spence's win over Porter is the better victory and he's had more recent success against better fighters than Golovkin.
7. Usyk moved up to heavyweight and beat a journeymen. The former cruiserweight champ should make some noise at heavyweight despite being undersized.
8. It has been a year and half since he beat Mares and three years since he avenged his lone defeat and beat Carl Frampton. His level of competition has fallen and he might exit the top ten without a good win in 2020.
9. Taylor took a close decision against Regis Prograis, who was a top 15 pound-for-pound fighter. He also has a victory over Viktor Postol, which was Crawford's toughest opponent by far.
10. Ramirez had three wins over good opponents before beating Maurice Hooker impressively in July. I'd love to see Ramirez against Taylor or Prograis. Instead, he's facing Viktor Postol in February.
Exiting: Garcia hasn't fought since his disappointing loss to Spence. He's #11. Gvozdyk lost to Artur Beterbiev, who is a top 20 guy despite his crude style because of his power. I'd like to see Beterbiev face Bivol. The winner would likely make the top 10 list.
Honorable mentions:
In addition to Beterbiev and Bivol, Pacquiao deserves a mention. So do Gervonta Davis, Juan Francisco Estrada, and Gary Russell. I'd also like to see those 122 pound guys (Navarrete, Roman, Rigondeaux, and Vargas) sort themselves out. A couple wins by those guys would likely put them on the list.
Friday, December 27, 2019
Georgetown and George Mason Teams of the Decade
Georgetown's All-Decade Team
G D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (2012-2016)
G Austin Freeman (2007-2011)
F Otto Porter (2011-2013)
F Marcus Derrickson (2015-2018)
C Jessie Govan (2015-2019)
Honorable mentions:
G Chris Wright (2007-2011)
G Jason Clark (2008-2012)
George Mason's All-Decade Team
G Otis Livingston II (2015-2019)
G Cam Long (2007-2011)
G-F Marquise Morris (2013-2017)
F Luke Hancock (2009-2011)
F Ryan Pearson (2008-2012)
Honorable mentions:
G Sherrod Wright (2009-2014)
C Shevon Thompson (2014-2016)
G D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (2012-2016)
G Austin Freeman (2007-2011)
F Otto Porter (2011-2013)
F Marcus Derrickson (2015-2018)
C Jessie Govan (2015-2019)
Honorable mentions:
G Chris Wright (2007-2011)
G Jason Clark (2008-2012)
George Mason's All-Decade Team
G Otis Livingston II (2015-2019)
G Cam Long (2007-2011)
G-F Marquise Morris (2013-2017)
F Luke Hancock (2009-2011)
F Ryan Pearson (2008-2012)
Honorable mentions:
G Sherrod Wright (2009-2014)
C Shevon Thompson (2014-2016)
Saturday, December 21, 2019
NBA Team of the Decade
PG Stephen Curry
SG James Harden
SF LeBron James
PF Kevin Durant
C Anthony Davis
Notes:
The toughest position to choose was point guard. Russell Westbrook was very close. He does everything on the court and gives maximum effort. He won an MVP and probably deserved at least one more. Curry has two MVPs, although perhaps Westbrook deserved the on of them. Curry also had a good bit more team success, but he also had better players around him on the whole. Curry takes it because he changed the game in way Westbrook didn't.
Harden has also changed the game. His ability to get to the line and his unashamed propensity to fire threes isn't the most artistically pleasing style of ball, but it is the most efficient. Kobe was a top 5 player the first three years of the decade, but then faded due to injury and age.
There is no question the LeBron makes this list. If he's not int he starting lineup on your All-Decade team, then you don't know basketball. Since 2011, he has been the best player in the league. His teams made eight NBA Finals during the decade and won three championships. He was the best player on all eight teams without question.
Whether Durant or LeBron is listed as the power forward doesn't really matter. Durant is a scoring machine whose handles, passing, and defense all improved throughout the decade. A four-time scoring champ and MVP, he won two Finals MVPs in his four Finals appearances.
The game has moved away from the center position. If I was going with simply the best five, Westbrook would make the team. But for the sake of tradition, we'll pick a big man. believe r not, Dwight Howard was a top ten player during the first four years of the decade, but Davis has been one since 2015. Davis doesn't have playoff success of the other four guys on the team, but his talent and individual performance on both sides of the ball makes him the clear choice as a big man on this squad.
SG James Harden
SF LeBron James
PF Kevin Durant
C Anthony Davis
Notes:
The toughest position to choose was point guard. Russell Westbrook was very close. He does everything on the court and gives maximum effort. He won an MVP and probably deserved at least one more. Curry has two MVPs, although perhaps Westbrook deserved the on of them. Curry also had a good bit more team success, but he also had better players around him on the whole. Curry takes it because he changed the game in way Westbrook didn't.
Harden has also changed the game. His ability to get to the line and his unashamed propensity to fire threes isn't the most artistically pleasing style of ball, but it is the most efficient. Kobe was a top 5 player the first three years of the decade, but then faded due to injury and age.
There is no question the LeBron makes this list. If he's not int he starting lineup on your All-Decade team, then you don't know basketball. Since 2011, he has been the best player in the league. His teams made eight NBA Finals during the decade and won three championships. He was the best player on all eight teams without question.
Whether Durant or LeBron is listed as the power forward doesn't really matter. Durant is a scoring machine whose handles, passing, and defense all improved throughout the decade. A four-time scoring champ and MVP, he won two Finals MVPs in his four Finals appearances.
The game has moved away from the center position. If I was going with simply the best five, Westbrook would make the team. But for the sake of tradition, we'll pick a big man. believe r not, Dwight Howard was a top ten player during the first four years of the decade, but Davis has been one since 2015. Davis doesn't have playoff success of the other four guys on the team, but his talent and individual performance on both sides of the ball makes him the clear choice as a big man on this squad.
Friday, December 20, 2019
World Leaders Power Rankings
Here's the new power rankings of world leaders. The last one was posted on December 4.
1. Xi worked to pass a trade deal with the U.S., but the situation with the Uighurs is deplorable. Xi was in danger of falling for the first time since he took over the top spot when American leadership flew out the door, things aren't going well for the other top contenders either.
2. Putin's man in DC has been impeached and there's an increased spotlight on Putin's war in Ukraine, so those aren't great developments for the autocrat.
3. Johnson did have a big week. His party won a big majority in the recent snap election and his Brexit plan looks to be going forward. This is an unexpectedly high moment for Johnson. We'll check back after Brexit has had time to affect the British economy.
4. Kim has been quiet recently, but he maintains his lofty position because he played U.S. president Donald Trump like a teenage boy plays with his...
5. Ardern hasn't made news in the last couple of weeks, but she had a good year standing up to racists and reforming her government.
6/. Ahmed won a Nobel Peace Prize and continues to risk his life to reform Ethiopia.
7. Nana runs a country that is one of the best in the world for female entrepreneurship, a word that I had to try to spell three times before Google could guess what I meant.
8. Bukele had a nice profile on 60 Minutes. He came across as competent and self-aware, which is not always true of presidents on the show.
9. Zelensky may inadvertently take down a U.S.-president, which gives him some inadvertent clout on the world stage. Not bad for a comedian.
10. Trump hasn't made the list in a while, because, well, things have not gone well this year for him. His foreign policy is in tatters, the Mueller Report was damning (although too few people read it for it to register as it should have), then he bullied Ukraine into trying to get dirt on a potential political opponent and got caught. And now he has been impeached. However, Trump's stock increased int he last day because of his team's proposed strategy to deal with Trump's impeachment. They are going to claim that Trump hasn't been impeached. So far, the strategy of making up they're own reality has worked pretty well, so why not try it one last time?
| Rank | Leader | Country | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xi Jiangping | China | 1 |
| 2 | Vladimir Putin | Russia | 2 |
| 3 | Boris Johnson | United Kingdom | Not Ranked |
| 4 | Kim Jong-un | North Korea | 3 |
| 5 | Jacinda Ardern | Ukraine | 6 |
| 6 | Abiy Ahmed | Ethiopia | 7 |
| 7 | Nana Akufo-Addo | Ghana | Not Ranked |
| 8 | Nayib Bukele | El Salvador | Not Ranked |
| 9 | Volodymyr Zelensky | Mexico | 5 |
| 10 | Donald Trump | United States | Not Ranked |
1. Xi worked to pass a trade deal with the U.S., but the situation with the Uighurs is deplorable. Xi was in danger of falling for the first time since he took over the top spot when American leadership flew out the door, things aren't going well for the other top contenders either.
2. Putin's man in DC has been impeached and there's an increased spotlight on Putin's war in Ukraine, so those aren't great developments for the autocrat.
3. Johnson did have a big week. His party won a big majority in the recent snap election and his Brexit plan looks to be going forward. This is an unexpectedly high moment for Johnson. We'll check back after Brexit has had time to affect the British economy.
4. Kim has been quiet recently, but he maintains his lofty position because he played U.S. president Donald Trump like a teenage boy plays with his...
5. Ardern hasn't made news in the last couple of weeks, but she had a good year standing up to racists and reforming her government.
6/. Ahmed won a Nobel Peace Prize and continues to risk his life to reform Ethiopia.
7. Nana runs a country that is one of the best in the world for female entrepreneurship, a word that I had to try to spell three times before Google could guess what I meant.
8. Bukele had a nice profile on 60 Minutes. He came across as competent and self-aware, which is not always true of presidents on the show.
9. Zelensky may inadvertently take down a U.S.-president, which gives him some inadvertent clout on the world stage. Not bad for a comedian.
10. Trump hasn't made the list in a while, because, well, things have not gone well this year for him. His foreign policy is in tatters, the Mueller Report was damning (although too few people read it for it to register as it should have), then he bullied Ukraine into trying to get dirt on a potential political opponent and got caught. And now he has been impeached. However, Trump's stock increased int he last day because of his team's proposed strategy to deal with Trump's impeachment. They are going to claim that Trump hasn't been impeached. So far, the strategy of making up they're own reality has worked pretty well, so why not try it one last time?
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Friday, December 13, 2019
Pound for Pound Best since 2008
I was going to do a top 10 pound for pound for this decade, but I became a hardcore boxing fan in 2008, so I decided to incorporate those two years into my list. Records are for the fighters' entire career.
1. Floyd Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs)
2. Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs)
3. Andre Ward (32-0, 16 KOs)
4. Wladimir Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs)
5. Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs)
6. Vasiyl Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs)
7. Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs)
8. Miguel Cotto (41-6, 33 KOs)
9. Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs)
10. Guillermo Rigondeaux (19-1, 13 KOs)
1. Mayweather is the unquestioned fighter of the last 12 years. He matched both skill and resume in a way no other fighter of his era did. He beat four men on my top ten list; no one comes close to that number. Not every fight was against a top flight opponent, but he beat more top opponents than anyone of the last dozen years.
2. Pacquiao's run, starting with his victory over Oscar De La Hoya, was incredible at the time. Hindsight is less kind. The win over Cotto still holds up, and perhaps has even gained merit after Cotto resurrected his career, but the rest have lost their luster somewhat with time. He deserved all three over Tim Bradley, who would have made this list had it extended to 20 boxers. Officially, he is 2-1 against Marquez since 2008, but I thought Marquez deserved all three. His recent win over Keith Thurman was impressive, though.
3. Ward cleaned out the super middleweight division by dominating the Super Six tournament in the early part of the decade. His wins over Froch and Kessler in the tournament were noteworthy. He then whipped Chad Dawson, who was the true light heavyweight champion at the time. He later became the best light heavyweight in the world after taking two against Kovalev.
4. Until November 2015, Klitschko totally dominated the heavyweight division. He looked unbeatable. He didn't have the stiffest competition, but wins over former true cruiserweight champ David Haye in addition to Povetkin and Pulev are at least worth mentioning. He fought a very boring fight against Tyson Fury, who has since done well for himself, and a very exciting fight against Anthony Joshua. He lost against his two best opponents, but Klitschko was clearly a faded fighter by then.
5. No one has fought the number of quality opponents as has Canelo. He won a couple of questionable decisions (against Trout and Lara), but he's also moved up in weight in a way that is comparable only to Pacquiao. He lost to Mayweather badly, but was very competitive against Golovkin. Officially, he is 1-0-1 against GGG, although I though Golovkin deserved the fight fight. He beat Cotto for the true middleweight championship and recently won a strap at light heavyweight despite starting this era as a welterweight.
6. Lomachenko doesn't have the resume of the guys above him. His best win was against Rignodeaux, who was coming up in weight. He also had good wins against Russell and Walters. But he has moved up from featherweight to lightweight and pretty much dominated world class guys. His ability puts him this high on the list more than his resume.
7. Marquez makes the list almost exclusively on his battles with Pacquiao. He had that huge knockout of the PacMan in 2012, which was a shocker because Pacquiao looked invincible at the time. He deserved the other two fights against Pacquiao since 2008. He fought a close battle with Bradley as well.
8. Cotto's best win since 2008 was over a faded Sergio Martinez, but it was for the true middleweight championship. Cotto fought three of the top 5 guys on this list and was relatively competitive against all three.
9. Golovkin is another guy whose ability outshines his resume. His best opponent has been Canelo, who he officially is 0-1-1 against. I thought he deserved the first fight and both were close. Golovkin was a bit past his prime in those bouts. He also has a nice win over Jacobs and annihilated the world class opponents put in front of him before he fought Jacobs and Canelo.
10. Rigondeaux also makes the list based on ability. He beat Nonito Donaire when the latter was a top 5 pound-for-pound fighter. He didn't stand a chance against Lomachenko, his only defeat, but that was at a much heavier weight. Otherwise, his opponents haven't had a chance against him, his last fight notwithstanding.
1. Floyd Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs)
2. Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs)
3. Andre Ward (32-0, 16 KOs)
4. Wladimir Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs)
5. Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs)
6. Vasiyl Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs)
7. Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs)
8. Miguel Cotto (41-6, 33 KOs)
9. Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs)
10. Guillermo Rigondeaux (19-1, 13 KOs)
1. Mayweather is the unquestioned fighter of the last 12 years. He matched both skill and resume in a way no other fighter of his era did. He beat four men on my top ten list; no one comes close to that number. Not every fight was against a top flight opponent, but he beat more top opponents than anyone of the last dozen years.
2. Pacquiao's run, starting with his victory over Oscar De La Hoya, was incredible at the time. Hindsight is less kind. The win over Cotto still holds up, and perhaps has even gained merit after Cotto resurrected his career, but the rest have lost their luster somewhat with time. He deserved all three over Tim Bradley, who would have made this list had it extended to 20 boxers. Officially, he is 2-1 against Marquez since 2008, but I thought Marquez deserved all three. His recent win over Keith Thurman was impressive, though.
3. Ward cleaned out the super middleweight division by dominating the Super Six tournament in the early part of the decade. His wins over Froch and Kessler in the tournament were noteworthy. He then whipped Chad Dawson, who was the true light heavyweight champion at the time. He later became the best light heavyweight in the world after taking two against Kovalev.
4. Until November 2015, Klitschko totally dominated the heavyweight division. He looked unbeatable. He didn't have the stiffest competition, but wins over former true cruiserweight champ David Haye in addition to Povetkin and Pulev are at least worth mentioning. He fought a very boring fight against Tyson Fury, who has since done well for himself, and a very exciting fight against Anthony Joshua. He lost against his two best opponents, but Klitschko was clearly a faded fighter by then.
5. No one has fought the number of quality opponents as has Canelo. He won a couple of questionable decisions (against Trout and Lara), but he's also moved up in weight in a way that is comparable only to Pacquiao. He lost to Mayweather badly, but was very competitive against Golovkin. Officially, he is 1-0-1 against GGG, although I though Golovkin deserved the fight fight. He beat Cotto for the true middleweight championship and recently won a strap at light heavyweight despite starting this era as a welterweight.
6. Lomachenko doesn't have the resume of the guys above him. His best win was against Rignodeaux, who was coming up in weight. He also had good wins against Russell and Walters. But he has moved up from featherweight to lightweight and pretty much dominated world class guys. His ability puts him this high on the list more than his resume.
7. Marquez makes the list almost exclusively on his battles with Pacquiao. He had that huge knockout of the PacMan in 2012, which was a shocker because Pacquiao looked invincible at the time. He deserved the other two fights against Pacquiao since 2008. He fought a close battle with Bradley as well.
8. Cotto's best win since 2008 was over a faded Sergio Martinez, but it was for the true middleweight championship. Cotto fought three of the top 5 guys on this list and was relatively competitive against all three.
9. Golovkin is another guy whose ability outshines his resume. His best opponent has been Canelo, who he officially is 0-1-1 against. I thought he deserved the first fight and both were close. Golovkin was a bit past his prime in those bouts. He also has a nice win over Jacobs and annihilated the world class opponents put in front of him before he fought Jacobs and Canelo.
10. Rigondeaux also makes the list based on ability. He beat Nonito Donaire when the latter was a top 5 pound-for-pound fighter. He didn't stand a chance against Lomachenko, his only defeat, but that was at a much heavier weight. Otherwise, his opponents haven't had a chance against him, his last fight notwithstanding.
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
World Leaders Power Rankings
Here's the new power rankings of world leaders. The last one was posted on November 19.
1. Xi is falling closer to Putin for two reasons. The horrible actions against the Uighurs is a terrible stain on Xi's legacy. And Putin is rising.
2. U.S. president Trump is able to try to extort Zelensky because of Putin's continuing war in Ukraine. Putin's preferred U.S. president is in hot water with impeachment and a contentious election coming up, but otherwise things are going well for the Russian autocrat. Russia amazingly still has Crimea.
3. Kim has threatened the U.S. with an unpleasant Christmas surprise if they don't bend to his demands. And he's threatening Japan with another test launch. He's back baby!
4. With Trump absconding from Syria, Erdogan is the man in the Middle East.
5. As the latest global scandal unfolds, it's clear that Zelensky was bullied, but that now puts him in a position of power. He can exonerate Trump or not. He recently said he trusts no one- a very good answer.
6. Ardern continues to make the list ont he power of her strong year, but she's fallen out of the news cycle.
7. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is continuing his reforms in Ethiopia. He has a long way to go.
8. Macron took Trump right where to stick it with his ISIS comments and exposes Trump's lack of leadership on the world stage.
9. AMLO had a good first year. He's viewed as a man of the people although he hasn't been able to curb the violence in Mexico.
10. Justin Trudeau was heard mocking Trump at NATO. Trump fired back, but only one of them won reelection this year. The other is facing an impeachment inquiry.
| Rank | Leader | Country | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xi Jiangping | China | 1 |
| 2 | Vladimir Putin | Russia | 2 |
| 3 | Kim Jong-un | North Korea | 6 |
| 4 | Recep Tayyip Erdogan | Turkey | 4 |
| 5 | Volodymyr Zelensky | Ukraine | Not Ranked |
| 6 | Jacinda Ardern | New Zealand | 3 |
| 7 | Abiy Ahmed | Ethiopia | 5 |
| 8 | Emmanuel Macron | France | Not Ranked |
| 9 | Andrés Manuel López Obrador | Mexico | Not Ranked |
| 10 | Justin Trudeau | Canada | 7 |
1. Xi is falling closer to Putin for two reasons. The horrible actions against the Uighurs is a terrible stain on Xi's legacy. And Putin is rising.
2. U.S. president Trump is able to try to extort Zelensky because of Putin's continuing war in Ukraine. Putin's preferred U.S. president is in hot water with impeachment and a contentious election coming up, but otherwise things are going well for the Russian autocrat. Russia amazingly still has Crimea.
3. Kim has threatened the U.S. with an unpleasant Christmas surprise if they don't bend to his demands. And he's threatening Japan with another test launch. He's back baby!
4. With Trump absconding from Syria, Erdogan is the man in the Middle East.
5. As the latest global scandal unfolds, it's clear that Zelensky was bullied, but that now puts him in a position of power. He can exonerate Trump or not. He recently said he trusts no one- a very good answer.
6. Ardern continues to make the list ont he power of her strong year, but she's fallen out of the news cycle.
7. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is continuing his reforms in Ethiopia. He has a long way to go.
8. Macron took Trump right where to stick it with his ISIS comments and exposes Trump's lack of leadership on the world stage.
9. AMLO had a good first year. He's viewed as a man of the people although he hasn't been able to curb the violence in Mexico.
10. Justin Trudeau was heard mocking Trump at NATO. Trump fired back, but only one of them won reelection this year. The other is facing an impeachment inquiry.
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