NOTHING BUT SPORTS

HELLO AGAIN EVERYBODY! I can't see the top of my desk so let's get busy clearing it off.

First off, congratulations to the KENTUCKY WILDCATS for winning the NCAA basketball tournament. They took advantage of the weakest regional in 30 years and injuries to key opposition players over their last 3 games but as I've always said....We don't make the schedule but we do have to play it. 

I'm so glad that baseball got their collective heads out of dark orifices and realized that it was a public relations nightmare to have a lockout or go on strike. After what America went through the last 2 years, listening to billionaires and millionaires complaining about money and benefits was not sitting well with the fans but we're on with the season!

If you're standing, please sit down and hang on to the chair. For the first time in three decades, I made a bet ON THE CHICAGO CUBS! I know, I know......I have problems just typing those words. It's a simple bet. If the Cubs win 75 games, I cash my ticket and if they don't, it makes me hate them even more so it's win-win for me.

The BULLS are in the playoffs ! But not for long as they play the defending world champions in the first round. Let's hope the Bulls can avoid a sweep.

The BLACKHAWKS are a disaster. They traded away most of the core group from the championship years and both TOEWS and KANE are in their 30's which means they will be the next to go if the organization is serious about the rebuild. Kane has tremendous trade value but not so much for Toews who has not been the same since that mysterious illness that affected both his muscles and his respiratory abilities. But man, did the Hawks have a great six years.

The WHITE SOX are already in first place after winning their first three series but they also play in a bad division. If they ever get healthy, they will be unstoppable. 

INCONSISTENT is always a word that drives me crazy in professional sports and I think one of the poster children is YOAN MONCADA. Look for Moncada to be traded. He has wonderful tools but his power numbers are sporadic, he is oft injured and has yet to play a full season. As a matter of fact, he has yet to step on the field this season!  Defensively, he's very good at third but you can't make plays sitting in the hot tub. Finishing with a snarky comment, he doesn't seem to have any problems making music videos and seems to move just fine during the dance version. Just sayin'............

Newcomer SELYA SUZUKI has made quite an impression for the Cubs during the first ten days of the season. Four home runs and a .400 batting average. Just get the club to 75 wins, son.

The CHICAGO BEARS are going to absolutely SUCK this season. No players, no first round draft choice and they are currently choked by the salary cap. They've signed a bunch of players to one year contracts to play out the string because next year, the Bears will have the fifth most money to spend in the league BUT this year, they play the Packers and Minnesota twice along with single games against Buffalo, New England, Miami, San Francisco and Dallas. And just how many wins do you see in those nine games?

A VERY HAPPY RETIREMENT TO BLACKHAWKS ANNOUNCER PAT FOLEY, who delighted us for 39 years with his great calls and sense of excitement. What Hawk fan will ever forget BANNNNNNNNNNNNNN-ERRRRRR-MAN! when he stopped a breakaway. (catch it on u-tube for a treat) Enjoy the golf courses, Pat.

CLAYTON KERSHAW gets pulled after pitching 7 perfect innings. I totally agree. The man has had a recent history of injuries and it's best to save him. Dodgers won which is what it's all about.

KYRIE IRVING repeatedly flips off the crowd in Boston. Fining a gazillionaire makes no sense but try suspending him for the next playoff game and see if his ghetto thuggery goes away . No class.

I can see part of my desk! More later.

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

HELLO AGAIN EVERYONE! JUST GOT THROUGH UNPACKING THE SUITCASES SO LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS!

What the hell is going on with this weather??? I spend 2 months down south and my blood is thinner that water and my first day home, it's 33 degrees.....during the day! ENOUGH. BRING SPRING TO ME!!!

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The situation in the Ukraine is absolutely terrible and I truly believe it's a no-win for the people of that very proud country. 140 million people against 40 million is a huge mismatch and without DIRECT INVOLVEMENT from the west, I fear that country is doomed. You can send all the guns and ammo you want but eventually, they will run out of people to fight the Russians. Putin is an animal who needs to be put down like a diseased dog but nobody wants to risk the next world war by shutting down the airspace.

The real bad news for Ukraine happened over the weekend when Putin named General Alexander Dvornikov as the new leader of the struggling Russian army. Not familiar with him? Dvornikov was responsible for the atrocities and war crimes committed in Syria back in 2015 when he was in charge of that war. Known as a "take no prisoners" strategist, his advance thru Syria was similar to Sherman's march to the sea at the end of our civil war where his troops were ordered to burn EVERY structure as they advanced through Atlanta and that included schools, hospitals, homes, outhouses, barns and general stores.  

NOBODY likes paying five dollars a gallon for gas but the embargo against Russia makes gasoline the price we pay for humanitarian efforts. I can honestly say that I don't know what I would do if I was in charge but I think Joe Biden has made the best decision for America at this time.

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An interesting problem has arisen regarding Mexican female domestics who snuck into this country decades ago and lived law abiding lives while being paid cash by their employers but not contributing to the social security program. As they reach their sunset years and are no longer able to clean houses, they are released by the employers. WHAT NOW? No benefits, no health care and no income. If their parent family is not in the states, they have no place to go. It's a situation that we'll all hear more about in the coming months.

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75 years ago on April 10th, Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers announced that he had signed JACKIE ROBINSON to a professional contract and Robinson would become the first black player in the major leagues. Was Robinson any good or was Rickey just trying to attract African Americans to the ball park?? 

To answer your question, Robinson played ten years and was the ROOKIE OF THE YEAR in 1947 and the MVP and BATTING CHAMPION in 1949 plus leading the league twice in stolen bases along with being a 6 time all-star. Throw in his FIRST BALLOT election to the HALL OF FAME in 1962 and I think you have your answer. Plus he changed baseball forever.

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Ixtapa, Mexico is slowly recovering from two years of shutdown and loss of jobs and believe me, their government does not send out free money in times of need so those people really suffered. My friend Amador lost his job as a waiter for almost a year and when we sat down to talk about it, he said he was sick of beans and rice because his family ate that EVERY DAY for a year during the shutdown because that was the one thing the government gave away. Many schools are still teaching via ZOOM and will do so until September.

 I'm happy to say that Mexican people line up in long lines to get vaccinated and only the people living high in the mountains have resisted coming to town for the shots. Ixtapa was just entering phase 3 of the vaccination during my time there. Good for them. Still the hardest working people in the world bar none. 10 hour shifts, six days a week. Wanna try it?

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Good news about my friend, the RED HEADED VIXEN. As I figured, she has kicked cancer's ass and is on the expressway to recovery. Ashley, give 'em hell!

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COUSIN JACKIE, our thoughts and prayers are with you every day and I hope your pain is minimal in hospice. Let those professionals do the job they're trained for and rest comfortably. 

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That's it for now. Time to get back under the blanket.