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PROJECT · findings note

claude-combined-frozen

claude_combined freeze (7/18→8/02): BOTH halves fixed and deployed — advanced-check latch (f1a8509, 7/29) + retry slot pre-tip 23:45Z→21:30Z (33d623b, 8/02). First live test = the 8/02 21:30Z pass; verify last_pick_at moved.

← All findingssource · memory/project_claude_combined_frozen.md

claude_combined is the graded sport-agents book (n=569, 273-227, −7.4u, frozen at last_pick 2026-07-18). The freeze was THREE stacked bugs, fixed in sequence — each alone sustains it:

  1. UTC slate-date in the retry slots (fixed by 7/29): post-midnight-UTC passes regenerated tomorrow's card, never the failed slate. Dates now derive in ET (_slate_date).
  2. Advanced-check latch (fixed f1a8509, 7/29): the retry guard probed /clv/picks?date= — a param the endpoint silently ignores — so the 7/18 write itself convinced the guard every later day had "already advanced". Now since/until-windowed with payload verification.
  3. Retry slot after tip (fixed 33d623b, 8/02, deployed 11:54Z): the 10:30Z morning pass gates every pick no_market (books unposted), clv_bridge exits rc=2; the single retry slot 23:45Z sits AFTER the regular 23:00Z WNBA tips, so the pending-tip gate skipped it — observed live on /health/cron for 8/01. Default second pass is now 21:30Z (after the sharps' ~19:41Z posting wave, before tips). Matinee slates (17:00Z tips) remain a documented accepted gap.

Verify after 2026-08-02 evening: last_pick_at should finally move (GET /clv/by-formula?formula_id=claude_combined). If still frozen, the remaining suspect is the 21:30Z blog output carrying no GRADE_OK (A+/A/B/C) picks. Still true: don't "fix" the headline by repointing at a winner without on-page disclosure — the site's pitch is "graded in public". Related: project_wnba_debate_chain_blind, project_model_persona_matrix (opus-4.8 + fade-arm retirements shipped in the same 8/02 deploy).