S01E107: Less Galivanting, More Gardening
Tonight’s Tarot Tarot:
https://tarotx.net/tarot-card-meanings/linestrider-tarot/five-of-wands.html
Catch Midnight Mike On The Waves!
https://ourbigdumbmouth.com/join-us
https://obdm.creator-spring.com/
Freaks of Hazard:
Qwaffy von Dustbubble is here again with another donation of $3.33! Thank you very much!
Those crazy kids makeheroism and mary-kate ultra went and did somethin real cool! Check out some new BTS shirts here! https://behindtheschemes.threadless.com/
Sharky came in right before the show motorboatin us good $80.08!! Wububububububububub!!!
New Gematria Boost Values WITH AUDIO
Alex Jones
I Need money - 654
Yay - 306
Believe it - 534
Epic - 198
Redonkulous - 938
It’s sensational - 1062
Jim Jones
How Much I’ve Loved You - 1476
We’ve Been So Betrayed - 1170
That’s not freedom - 1098
Give That Little Sweetheart A Little Bit Of Love - 2874
yes comrade - 648
please get us some medication - 1650
The WNBA and Money Laundering In Russia
WNBA Star Detained In Russia After Pleading Guilty to Smuggling Charges
Brittney Griner, WNBA Star, is arrested and detained in Moscow on Feb 17, 2022 for trying to fly into Moscow with oil vape cartridges.
On July 7th, she pleaded guilty to the charges and now faces a potential 10-year max imprisonment sentence
At the time of this writing, she has been interned for about a half a year
Who is Brittney Griner?
Arguably the best active female basketball player alive (31 years old)
2-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2016, 2020)
Lead college (Baylor) undefeated (40-0) in 2011-2012 season
#1 Overall Draft Pick
Star of the Phoenix Mercury (2014 champs)
7x All-Star
Star of UMMC Ekaterinburg, Russian Women’s Team (champs ‘09-’21)
NCAA and WNBA championships, Olympic and FIBA World Cup gold medals
The only college player ever to both score 2,000 points and block 500 shots in their career
Why Are WNBA Players In Russia? Money!
Over 70 American female athletes currently participate in the Winter League
They get paid 4x-5x times their American salaries if they play in their League
Griner reportedly made $221,450 for the 2021-2022 season playing in the USA for Phoenix
While she allegedly made over a million dollars a season playing in Russia for UMMC Ekaterinburg
She has been playing in Russia since 2014 (1 year after drafting)
Also plays in China! The Zhejiang Golden Bulls, or the Zhejiang Golden Rent, which is what it is for our ladies. Since 2014
When 60 Minutes asked Sue Bird, WNBA player and wife of American Soccer Superstar Megan Rapinoe, about Russian billionaire [and ex-KGB spy] Shabtai Kalmanovich recruiting her for Spartak Moscow, she replied, “I'm a millionaire because of it.”
Griner is not even the highest paid player on her team. Diana Taurasi was allegedly paid $1.5 million in 2015 to rest.
Why Do WNBA Players Make Less Than Male NBA Players?
WNBA season is much shorter, with 36 games compared to 82 in the NBA (regular season)
Post-season plays anywhere from 16-32 more games total
The brands have considerably different earning power
NBA is projecting $10 billion in revenue this season, WNBA projects $60 million
WNBA has lost $10 million on average every year it has existed, according to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
WNBA attendance was 1,574,078 in 2016-2017. On average, WNBA players make $71,635 with maximum salary caps at $115,500/year for veterans who've been in the league for at least six years. Griner reportedly made $221,450 in 2021-2022
The attendance in the G League (Male) was 1,616,656 in 2017-2018. G League salaries are only now UP TO $35,000/year
Comparing the WNBA to the G League (comparable attendance), the women are being paid much better than their male counterparts
Who Owns The Russian Teams? Wealthy Businessmen! A Slew Of Them!
Iskander Makhmudov, the “Copper King of Russia”, owns Griner’s team
Worked as an interpreter for various Soviet military organizations in Libya including Principal Engineering Directorate and in Iraq
After Soviet Collapse, he partnered with 2 pairs of Jewish brothers, Mikhail and Lev Cherney and David and Simon Reuben, to create a metal trading company called Trans World Group
Owns massive mining and holding companies, media outlets, rail companies, and more
Donated Ice hockey rink in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Obvious insider and member of higher class in Russia
Runs his metal companies from his home in Israel
Runs a global spook conference in DC every year
Kicked out of Russia and Kazakhstan, living in the UK
Forbes reports them as the 2nd richest family in the UK
Owns half of Olympic Village, among other things
Why Do Russian Billionaires Care About Women’s Basketball?
In 2016, ESPN’s Kate Fagan visited Griner and Taurasi in Russia and observed near-empty arenas, cheap tickets, and an apparent lack of any significant culture around watching women’s basketball
Shabtai Kalmanovich, ex-KGB, resident of Israel, and owner of 3 different Russian Women’s teams, including championship team Spartak Moscow, took great public interest in the sport until his contract assassination in 2009
The L.A. Times reported that Kalmanovich appeared to make little money off the franchise that recruited Americans like Bird and Taurasi. No one even bothered to sell game tickets, he told the newspaper, but Kalmanovich put the players in a gated house, gave them money to dine at the best restaurants, and sent them on vacations
Henry Abbott, another former ESPN basketball writer who now runs the digital media company True Hoop, ran the money-laundering rumors by a source: “I asked a veteran of the game, and she laughed, asked if I really didn’t know. Did they get better sponsors, sell more tickets I wondered? She felt sorry for me, being so dumb. Then announced: It’s money laundering,” Abbott tweeted in March.
Videos
CRINGEDOWN
https://mega.nz/folder/GOwFlDKD#s9cjUVYlK6Y3Hs5e5CEXIA
https://rock-fest.com/lineup/#/artists/headliners
Boots On The Ground. Fuck Hatebreed’s backdrop. Local spot op busting a spot lamp. What is it about Lamb of God, but, but the Dave shout out was cool. Bass player on Friday opening band had a gwar shirt. The concussion box was cool tho. Haelstorm takes the cake so far. Lol Jello Roll and the Fire Marshalls getting smoked out. Road crew fell off the edge of stage. Mudvayne is pretty cool. Their crew was pretty chill. John 5 was here? And Skillet? BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM. Can Mudvayne stay safe and be heavy metal as fuck? Fuck Shinedown and some of their crew. “Super smarmy ‘WE CAN’T HEAR YOU” 3x after first song? This lead singer is a doofus. Holy shit they do not shut the fuck up. Every song felt like it was an encore. Who’s heard of the number 1 debut album Planet Zero? Nobody here. Crickets. Lol and the phone lights. The camera men getting pulled onstage, bet that wasn’t advanced.
NEVER TOUCH THE GROUND
The Woman Who’s Feet Never Touched the Ground
Curse Words From The Past That Haven't Aged So Well
OPENER
INTERMISSION
CLOSER
TAKE THESE, IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE!
Boo’s on the ground!