THINGS IN GENERAL TO END THE YEAR

I think this is the last of the notes on my desk so let's give it a whirl.

Want to stop all the assaults of flight personnel on the airlines? Make it a forcible federal felony with a ten year MANDATORY sentence. "I was drunk and didn't realize what I was doing" "I had a tough day and didn't want to be told what to do" or my recent favorite "I know I'm supposed to have a mask on but I was tired of wearing it and she didn't have to treat me like a ten year old." This assault trend is absolutely ridiculous and endangers the safety of the entire flight and it should be treated in that nature. 

                                                                *********

Gotta love the one juror in the dirt bag Smollett case. "We did him a favor and threw him a bone with the one 'not guilty.' Total lack of credibility and no one story to back up his version. I've been told the penalty will be light but can you imagine his legal fees?"

I would pay serious money to watch him pick up garbage along the highway wearing a bright orange jump suit.

                                                             *******

And while we're talking about owing money, Smollett still owes the City of Chicago $130,000 for the police man hours used investigating his phony story. Hey Jussie, they're hiring at both Amazon and UPS.

                                                                   *********

In a much safer time, I journeyed to a faraway place called downtown because I had tickets to see CRISTMAS CAROL at the Goodman Theatre which would be followed up with seasonal festivities at LAWRY'S PRIME RIB HOUSE which I figured would be the highlight of the afternoon/evening. (Never eat a big dinner BEFORE seeing a play) 

But I was dead wrong because I was treated to an acting masterpiece by WILLIAM J. NORRIS who played Ebenezer Scrooge like Stradivarius played the violin. Absolute perfection and he was so good in the role that I saw the play three more times in the 90's and was always amazed at how great he was. Mr. Norris passed away two weeks ago from heart disease at the age of 75.  Godspeed.

                                                        ********

Just got thru with History Channel's two part documentary on the rock group KISS and it is fascinating. I am not a fan of the group and only know a couple of their songs but watching the machinations of trying to hold a band together for FIFTY freaking years is absolutely amazing. Take the time to dial it up.

                                                          ********

Did ALEC BALDWIN pull the trigger?  He says no. How did the gun discharge?

                                                              *******

Ah, the needy and the greedy. Lee Price of Houston was sentenced 9 years in federal prison for misusing 1.6 million dollars in funding from the Paycheck Protection Program, a low interest loan program to protect a small business during covid. HOW DID MR. PRICE PROTECT HIMSELF??    Well, he purchased a Lamborghini Urus for $211,000, an $85,000 Ford F-350, paid off a loan on a residential property and of course, the mandatory misuse of funds at the local strip club which means he will owe the government $900,00 PLUS INTEREST when he is released in 2030. Good luck getting paid back, Uncle Sam, but at least you got the jerk and $700,000.

                                                               ********

DID YOU KNOW there is no parole if you're sentenced federally? You get 3 years, you serve 3 years unless you get credited with 'good time.'

                                                                    *******

God bless the people who suffered thru the 6 states tornado path over the weekend. Mother Nature's power never ceases to amaze me. A photo was found in the driveway of a woman in Illinois on Sunday that up until the tornado, had been placed with other family photos in a living room 130 MILES AWAY in a small Kentucky town. incredible.

                                                            ********

C'mon, give it up for OJ SIMPSON who was released from parole after serving 9 years for armed robbery in Nevada and 3 years of parole. Still the luckiest man in the world after walking away from two murders and has a monthly NFL pension of $25,000 which can't be touched by criminal or civil actions.

                                                                ***********

Just like you, I've been reading about the overflow and long waits in local emergency rooms but it's kind of a shoulder shrug because we don't spend a lot of time there. BUT HOLD ON A MINUTE, SUGARPLUM, because do I have a story for you.

My back and hip are really killing me so i get a ride to the ER and sign in at EXACTLY 1300 with my complaint of 24/7 pain with a pain scale of 10 on a 1-10 and within ten minutes, I'm signed in and have my official hospital bracelet that we all know and love. I'm looking for an x-ray and some stronger meds to help me sleep. simple.

I count 38 people as I take my seat but I mentally eliminate moms, dads and grandparents from the total count so I figure two hours for 20 people. WRONG, BATMAN. FIVE FREAKING HOURS LATER at 1800 due to a constant flow of new patients, there are still 33 people in the room and a guy in a wheelchair is rolled up to the check-in counter and says, "9 hours is long enough. I'm out of here." 

NINE HOURS??? So I lasso the guy and he tells me he got there at 0900 with super elevated blood pressure which kept climbing in the ER but he never saw a doctor. NEVER SAW A DOCTOR. They kept checking his vitals every 30 minutes but was never given and medicine or explanations.

So now Uncle Dan is curious and begins working the room. 16 year old who got his head slammed at school and reported headache, blurred vision and nausea. brought in at noon, still waiting at 1800. They gave him a vomit bag but no xrays.

 Middle age woman with 'super pressure' headache, vision issues and a very sore ear came in at 1000 after waking up with the stroke symptoms. tears rolling down her cheeks. 8 hours later---vitals but no x-rays or CAT scan. So what chance do I have with a sore hip?

Absolutely ridiculous. The only explanation was that the ER was a level 1 trauma center where incoming patients are constantly shuffled according to need BUT THEY WILL NOT LET YOU KNOW YOUR CURRENT POSITION IN LINE which is ridiculous. The way I got it figured was that a limb hanging by a thread or a happening heart attack or stroke might get you in pretty quick but other than that......good luck.

There is a strong need for new rules and regulations. Make it easier for the nurses, not harder and post LARGE SIGNS explaining the procedure for ranking patients. 

                                                         ******** 

Ah, the seasonal beauty of Chicago at Christmas time is somewhat tainted by the 800th murder which goes along with the 4300+ shootings. Talk about decking the halls!

STAY OUT OF CHICAGO! It's their problem....don't become part of it.

                                                     *******

Finally, this has been another difficult year for many of us but 2022 is just around the corner and hopefully, things will be much brighter!

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!

THINGS IN GENERAL AND SPORTS

 It's been a while since I wrote because I've been fighting a bad back and it's tough to sit at the computer for any length of time but today is a better day so I'm combining general thoughts AND sports in the same blog so pour yourself a fresh cup and settle in and we'll clean off the desk!!

How happy was I with the GUILTY verdict on Jussie Smollett????????????????REAL FREAKING HAPPY!!! This sanctimonious prick did all sorts of damage to both blacks and members of the gay community with his ridiculous account of what happened to him that night and much to his surprise, the much maligned CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT stood up straight and eventually found the bad guy. He was the one with a noose around his neck on the night of the 'attack.'

Unfortunately, he has no criminal record and will probably just get public service but I would pay to see him wearing an orange jump suit and picking up garbage along the highway. And to what end? Over a half million in legal fees with a pending appeal (I'm thinking 'no' after the dust settles) plus a broken career so we have a 39 year old black man who can't get hired. He has been added to my '5 people I want to punch' list.

                                                          ****************

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA for winning the big game on Saturday and securing a spot in the FINAL FOUR of football but more importantly, their performance slammed the door on Notre Dame and now the Irish are on the outside looking in. Perfect holiday present.

                                                           *****************

Casinos are FINALLY on the way to both north suburban WAUKEGAN and south side HOMEWOOD/HAZEL CREST after a two year process that was delayed by the pandemic and various legal issues. How long before it opens?? My source along the lakefront tells me they will be up and running by spring time but the final construction nail won't be pounded for a couple years. "Gamblers want to gamble and if it's tables and slots inside a pole barn to begin with, so be it." Job, jobs and more jobs are on the way. Will there be enough people to fill all the jobs??? We'll see but good for the Waukegan area.

                                                          *********************

Okay, here's my current list of 5 people I want to punch. THIS IS A FIGURATIVE LIST WITH NO INTENT BECAUSE VIOLENCE OF ANY KIND IS BAD. After the aforementioned Smollett, add former Notre Dame coach BRIAN KELLY, Florida representative and suspected predator MATT GAETZ, tv guy TUCKER CARLSON and the only guy with a permanent spot on the list, the former president. Trust me, other than the final spot, this list changes all the time based on levels of frustration and stupidity.

                                                             ***************

Here we go again in baseball. The owners have 'locked out' the players over a handful of issues in the Collective Bargaining Agreement which effectively freezes baseball in every way. This is not good for the fans so hopefully, cooler heads prevail before spring training.

                                                       ******************

Price of foo-foo coffee going up?? After 50 years in business, STARBUCKS now has it's first union shop in Buffalo, NY. Good for the workers, bad for you.

                                                      **************

I understand the new documentary on the Beatles, "GET BACK," is a little short of 8 total hours in three segments but is remarkable and well worth the watch on DISNEY+ as the group readies for it's final show and the behind the scenes video gets down to the reality of how tough it is to stay on top. I haven't seen it but it's on my list.

                                                           **********

A nice Christmas story..........A semi-trailer containing $50,000 in donated toys disappeared from the storage facility but it was just a paperwork screw-up that was rectified and the trailer was returned with no charges. A large sigh of relief. Nice.

                                                       *************

The tragedy at the high school in Michigan is still experiencing fallout. After the initial arrests of the maggot and his parents, then the finger pointing began followed by lawsuits against the administration and a strong possibility of high school personnel being arrested. An ugly, ugly situation.

                                                          **********

As the end nears for BEARS COACH MATT NAGY, he has to head up north one more time and get his ass whipped one more time by Rodgers and company. I don't think NAGY is the worst coach ever for the Bears but he's in the top 5. And don't get me started on pretty boy RYAN PACE who has disappeared once again so he doesn't have to face the media. A strong candidate for the punch list.

                                                              ***********

Finally, I want to wish everyone safe and warm holidays and if you can't see the people closest to you on the holiday, make sure you pick the phone up and say hello because I guarantee it will make their day brighter. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

THINGS IN GENERAL

All sorts of stuff to write about but just like you, I'm waiting for the Kenosha verdict before I publish.

KYLE RITTENHOUSE NOT GUILTY. I hope everyone has boarded up their windows. I hear that he's relocating to either arizona or texas which is probably a good thing for his personal well being. And I would like to nominate the prosecutors for "WORSE PROSECUTION OF THE YEAR". But it is what it is and now we go to the civil damages. Remember OJ was acquitted and then whacked 30 million in damages to the victim's family.

                                                                   *******

So I'm fighting a bad cold last week and lying on the couch, like we all do, waiting for the misery to end and the PRICE IS RIGHT is not doing it for me on tv so i grab the remote and start looking for ANYTHING that will interest me, at least until I fall asleep again. LIFE BELOW ZERO pops up on the electronic guide so I hit the remote, put my head down on the pillow and watch these whack jobs living up by the artic circle trying to navigate everyday life when it's 30 BELOW outside. 

I thought I was hallucinating when I saw a husband/wife team jump on their snow machines (don't you dare call them snowmobiles!) when the temperature was -35 and travel SIXTY FREAKING MILES to look for an elk to shoot. no luck so head back to their 'house' which is a one room cabin with a wood burning stove. At no time did I see a shower or bathtub in ANY of the cabins. Ewwwww! It would be my idea of hell because you have to hunt and fish and know how to use tools and WE ALL KNOW HOW I DEAL WITH THOSE BUT I think I'm going to sneak a peek next time I find it on tv. These people are truly out of their minds. 

                                                                            ******

Back to reality..................A ghetto rat kills the mother of a one year old in Wheeling and then kidnaps the child. Bad enough but then he throws the infant into a pond with obvious results. The irony is that they were living together BUT he WASN'T the father of the child. 'Tough guy" baby killer AHMEEL FOWLER was arrested in Missouri and is now part of the 'forever system' and will spend the rest of his life in prison on the tax payers dime. 

ARE YOU SURE you don't want the death penalty??? Putting the death of the mother on the side for a moment, what did this one year old baby do to anyone to deserve being tossed into a lagoon with zero chance of survival??? That lowlife deserves to fry. or be drowned. Even the bleeding heart liberals have to raise an eyebrow at this one.

                                                                          *******

Chicago police officer JOHN CATANZARA has decided to retire rather than face over a dozen charges in front of a disciplinary board. Most of the charges are based on racism and prejudice, along with insubordination and filing false police reports. We all know that freedom of speech is part of our democracy BUT as a police officer, you're held to a higher standard and you CANNOT attack individual races and make PUBLIC statements like "they should get a bullet." And now you're going to respond to a problem in their neighborhood?

Catanzara is a staunch donald trump supporter and wrote that he supported the January 6 rioters and defended their actions. Even his attorneys conceded that his social media posts were 'vulgar' and 'unsettling' but they felt he was protected under his first amendment right to free speech. There is no doubt that cantanzara would have been fired had he continued with the hearing. The 27 year veteran also announced he is going to run for mayor. A racist running for mayor? Good luck with that in Chicago.

In case you think I'm being too hard on this loudmouth, in the 27 years he's been on the job, he's been the subject of more complaints than 96% of the department and he's been suspended a total of 131 days for those 50+ complaints which comes out to more than two verified complaints a year. In comparison, I had 9 complaints in 25 years.

                                                                  *******

My winter getaway in Mexico was victimized by an F3 hurricane a few weeks ago and the damage was extensive. These people have had a very difficult two years with the pandemic, a lack of medical supplies and hospital rooms, limited hotel occupancies, restaurant closings and now this. And remember that building codes are basically non-existent in the residential sections which resulted in major damages such as corrugated sheet metal roofs being torn off and sent flying like frisbees in the middle of the night. No jobs and now this. Ugh.

                                                                         *******

A large smile crossed my face this week when it was announced that donald trump was selling his financially plagued 'trump international hotel' in Washington D.C. after losing $70 million dollars over 4 years. The hotel became a hangout for right wingers during his presidency but the place has become a 'ghost town' since he left office. The new owners will immediately remove the trump name. gee, wonder why?

                                                                          *******

And as long as we're discussing trump, ANOTHER big smile crossed my face last week when a capitol rioter who punched a police officer was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. why the smile? Because the poor defendant, WHO PLED GUILTY,  broke down in tears when the sentence was announced and said "he didn't mean to hurt anyone." WHAT? Having been in a few fights in my life, I can tell you that's EXACTLY why you throw a punch! To hurt the other person, plain and simple. This guy was the 100th rioter to be sentenced and while I personally think the sentences have universally been way too light, at least their futures are screwed with the federal convictions.

                                                                  *******

And Texas loudmouth Jennifer Ryan, who flew to DC on a private plane and then bragged about her assault on the Capitol Building on social media was sentenced to 60 days in federal prison. She had previously stated on social media that there was 'no way' she would be sent to prison because she was white and blonde. OOPS. At her sentencing hearing, AT WHICH SHE PLED GUILTY, her statement was "This is not who I am." Well, sweetie, I tend to disagree. It's EXACTLY who you are .....someone who has a total disregard for this country and it's rules of law. 

And one more jerkoff from the Capitol uprising, the self proclaimed shaman got whacked with 41 months and what was his statement at sentencing??? "I'm a law abiding citizen......" WAIT! STOP RIGHT THERE!! Again, no you're not. Enjoy your 8 x 10 and weekly shower. 

Does anyone wonder why NONE OF THE RIOTERS have chosen to have a jury trial? They have ALL PLED GUILTY. 400 more defendants to go.

                                                                ******

The DREAD HEAD COWBOY is heading for trial on November 29 and representing himself in the courtroom despite having minimal education and absolutely no experience with the law, other than being arrested. ADAM HOLLINGSWORTH is charged with felony cruelty to animals when he rode his horse full gallop on the Dan Ryan expressway to raise awareness of violence against youth. This idiot tore up the horse by riding it almost 6 miles at a full gallop on the concrete despite being told by state police to exit the highway. The horse was taken to a safe haven for abused animals where it eventually recovered. Jail time would be nice.

                                                                        *******

MOVING ON TO HAPPIER TIMES......A reader sent me an e-mail after the last blog when I mentioned the things that I missed and he brought up CHRISTMAS IN JULY and he was absolutely correct. Throwing a real tree under my deck for 6 months and then decorating it the third week of July with homemade ornaments set the stage for the wacky gift exchange later in the day. Add to that good food, bad karaoke and a whole bunch of laughs. GOOD TIMES!

                                                                       *******

The Genesee theater in Waukegan is a hidden gem and if you get a chance to attend a concert there, please do it. Not a bad seat in the house and reasonably priced tickets and $10 parking right across the street. There's only 2400 seats in the entire place so it's a pretty intimate theater.  In the past few years, I've seen  JERRY SEINFELD,  THE TEMPTATIONS, WAYNE NEWTON, CHICAGO, BILL COSBY, GEORGE CARLIN, UNDER THE STREETLAMP, HAL HOLBROOK, STOMP, GARY PUCKETT AND THE UNION GAP, TERRY FATOR, THE ASSOCIATION, THE TURTLES and BRAD GARRETT and NEVER had a bad seat. geneseetheatre.com  

                                                                     *******

The annual discussion/debate is on about what to serve along with the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. For me, a must have is cranberry sauce but for others it's green bean casserole 😝, sweet potatoes, dressing, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and gravy, cheesy potatoes 😝😝😝, pecan pie and many other options. I'm in charge of cooking my world famous brined turkey for 4 people this year but they're in charge of all the sides. And the only non-negotiable is that dinner is served AFTER THE BEARS GAME, which starts at 11:30 so 4:30 seems to be dinner time!!

 Can't wait!!

                                                                   *******

Again, get well wishes to the redhead who lives in the northwest suburbs. She's completed 3 rounds of a 12 round fight and according to insiders, she's ahead on all the scorecards. Give 'em hell, ASHLEY, and a SPECIAL HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and your family.  And yes, you're still buying lunch in the spring as soon as the weather breaks.

                                                                     *******

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE and don't forget to give the special people in your life a nice hug when you see them. You don't even have to say anything when you hug them because they'll understand.

THINGS I MISS, THINGS I LIKE AND........

Cleaning off the top of my desk..........

Just got through with a delightful book, "THE BOYS," by ron howard who you might better remember on television as OPIE from the andy griffith show or RICHIE CUNNINGHAM on happy days. Co-authored with his younger brother Clint, the book follows the brothers from their very early days as actors in a 'blue collar' Hollywood family where dad and mom are also actors but not stars.

The book deals with the highs and lows of raising two boys on a bit actor's occasional paycheck and the nastiness of the entertainment world. Is he too old at 12? Is he too tall? Is he still using drugs? Drinking? Does he need a wig? Kids are kids, even in Hollywood and they like sports and girls and cars and experimenting just like you did. It's an easy read and I think you'll like it. Available on Kindle. I'd give it an 8.5.

                                                                       *******

I miss the Kitchen Nazi's ham rolls....

and the Minnesota Mafia's beef stroganoff......

and Barb's cheesecake.......

and Aunt Lorraine's Hawaiian salad.....

and Gwen's Christmas morning biscuits & gravy........

and Donna Bartosz' corned beef......

and the Polock's cooking.......

absolutely ZERO calories in all of the above. I promise.

                                                                      *******

Nothing beats the smell of movie theatre popcorn when you first walk into the lobby.

Except maybe the smell of a Thanksgiving turkey when you come in from the cold.

The new fangled recliner/rockers in the theatre make me fall asleep. 😴

                                                                  *******

I'm very confused with alternative television and I don't understand streaming nor do I have a device to do that so the other day I asked the girl at the cable company about the options I might have.........boy, was that a mistake. I hear her take a deep breath and about 7 minutes later I had all the information I need about adding.............HULU, PEACOCK, AMAZON PRIME, NETFLIX, DISNEY +, APPLE + (apparently the + makes it real special....and more expensive) HBO MAX, PARAMOUNT + (THERE'S THAT + AGAIN---can you buy the service without the +?) and to finish with a flourish, DISCOVERY + . And that was just page 1 of her information sheet. The total cost of all those programs was $412.00 a month. Thanks and have a great day. I miss the days when it was just channels 2-5-7 & 9.

WHO AM I KIDDING??? I love all the cable channels and I am such a whore regarding sports, history and cop shows. Imagine if I had +++ television?😲

                                                                    *******

Just talking the other day about all the annual tailgate trips we took to see the Bears starting with being picked up at 0500 and then eating breakfast by 0730 under the highway by Mccormick Place.......until the last few years when we improved our location on top of Waldron Deck overlooking Lake Michigan and actually having access to bathrooms with running water. Living the good life at that point! Although the porta-potties were definitely an adventure--especially AFTER the game.  EWWWWWWW!!!😩.

I also miss CHILIFEST but not the work required to run it. Thanks again to the Nazi and the Garage Girl for their many years of help.

                                                                       *******

REMEMBER WHEN............you went to the movies and an uniformed usher would shine his flashlight on you if you were talking too loud or god forbid, you had your feet on the chair in front of you. He would even lead you to your seat when you first arrived.

Television channels used to sign off at midnight and then play the national anthem?

Saturday mornings were THE morning for kids watching television.

Snow days happened because your town didn't have enough snow removal equipment.

The outdoor charged three bucks a person and you would hide 4 buddies in the trunk.

Nuns walking around with a ruler to make sure you didn't get too close at the school dance.

The mail being picked up and delivered TWICE A DAY to your house.

You only got a trophy if you won something.

VCR's with wired remotes. Top of the line, baby.

BETA? VHS?  you choose.

Pay phones. telephone booths.

                                                               *******

OK, I can see the top of my desk so I'll catch up to you later.

 

THINGS IN GENERAL

 Some of you already know this but I keep a running list of the 'FIVE PEOPLE WHO NEED A PUNCH IN THE MOUTH' and you make this list by being a total jerkwad.......and my most recent addition is actor JESSE SMOLLETT, who tried to pull a fast one in 2019 while in Chicago by setting up a fake attack on himself and claiming it was committed by Trump people.

Smollett, who is gay, said the attack was homophobic in nature and the two offenders put a noose around his neck and poured some type of liquid over his head but he fought them off with all of his 175 pounds.TOTAL BULLSHIT!  I hope Smollett gets smacked at his upcoming trial and is forced to pay for the hundreds of hours spent by the police department investigating the 'crime.'

                                                                               *******

Still planning an evening in Chicago? THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN PEOPLE  have been shot to date inside the city limits, about 12 PER DAY.  3,567 people...... and about 10% of them were under the age of 18. Sure, let's drive to the city for dinner.

                                                                              *******

Kudos to Cook County Sheriff TOM DART who surely lost votes the other day when he correctly pointed out that more than 90% of all car jackings take place in black neighborhoods. When flak came his way, he simply responded with "Hey, I don't make the statistics, I just read them." BRAVO.

                                                                             *******

The Chicago Police Department has hung out a 'HELP WANTED' sign and when you clear the 18 month probation, you'll be making $80,000 per year. The exam is October 21-23. Sign up at CHICAGOPOLICE.ORG.

A sad goodbye to BARNEY FIFE'S girlfriend, THELMA LOU. 95 year old actress BETTY LYNN passed quietly in her sleep this week in Mount Airy, North Carolina where she had retired in 2007. I believe she was the last surviving adult lead from the Andy Griffith Show.

                                                                             *******

Cops and firemen refusing to get vaccinated are being sent home WITHOUT PAY.  I'm 100% in favor of that discipline and disobeying a direct order is playing with fire. When you make $90,000+ and that $2,000 dollar weekly paycheck suddenly disappears, your life changes drastically. First responders come into contact with all sorts of diseased and compromised people so you have to protect yourself first. Do the smart thing because you cannot win this war with city hall.

                                                                              *******

STAY SAFE and enjoy the bonus weather.

SPORTS OF ALL SORTS

 WOW! What a playoff game last night between the Dodgers and the Cardinals with the end coming on a walk-off home run by CHRIS TAYLOR who had been 9 for his last 72. And now on to San Francisco for DA BUMS.

                                                              *******

I make fun of them all the time because the optics of this league are just head scratching but CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CHICAGO SKY as they head to the WNBA finals for the second time in team history. They await the winner of the Phoenix-Las Vegas series and that will begin Sunday.

                                                               *******

I told you this would happen! ANDREW WIGGINS of the Golden State Warriors suddenly got vaccinated when he realized what he was about to lose in salary. I can imagine the conversation when the mother of his two kids heard about his refusal and said, "WHAAAAT? You get your black ass over to Walmart right now and get the shot! I ain't missing out on $450,000 every time you have a home game!" Wiggins, of course, is now pontificating that he "was forced" to get the shot. I imagine so.

                                                                *******

THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX return to the playoffs against the cheating garbage can banging HOUSTON ASTROS in a best of 5 series that begins THIS AFTERNOON at 3 p.m. and you know that most baseball fans will be rooting against the Astros, who screwed the Dodgers out of the championship in 2017 by cheating with a bizarre signaling system. How about we start it of by burying a fastball in Jose Altuve's ribs? just kidding? 😈

Let's take the SOX in 5. The Dodgers in 4. Tampa in 4. Atlanta upsets the Brewers.

LET'S PLAY SOME BASEBALL!

                                                                     *******

Speaking of being forced to do something, I think VILLAGE IDIOT MATT NAGY got a phone call from the ivory tower and was instructed to 'cut the bullshit' if you want to stay employed and moments later, he changed his stance on who was the starting quarterback. Just 48 hours earlier, he had emphatically stated that ANDY DALTON is the #1 QB if healthy but mysteriously changed his mind Wednesday. Look for Dalton's bone bruise to last unless Fields is unable to play. Nagy is such a mutt. DEAD MAN WALKING.

                                                                  *******

For those of you who are old enough, there was a time when Chicago's MARSHALL HIGH SCHOOL was the 'run & gun' team for the ages and defense was something that happened by mistake as the COMMANDOS regularly ran people out of the gym. Well, it appears that BILLY DONOVAN'S CHICAGO BULLS are following that model in an effort to qualify for the NBA playoffs as they fly down the court and put up shots in less than 10 seconds. For you younger fans, think UNLV back in the 90's. A great way to play ball but somebody better rebound.....EVERY TIME.

                                                               *******

I heard a rumor that upcoming free agent COREY SEAGER of the Dodgers is looking at the CUBS. Why in the name of insanity would anyone want to go from the penthouse to a real smelly outhouse? It makes no sense to throw your career away by signing with a team that won't see .500 for the next 4 years. And on the flip side, the 27 year old Seager will be looking for at least 20 million a year and a four year deal. Makes no sense.

                                                                  *******

Finally, a sad goodbye to comedian/sports bettor NORM MACDONALD who made me laugh so many times with his sardonic wit and deadpan looks directly into the camera, especially while working SNL. I met Norm at the sports book in Caesars when he sat down next to me in the gallery to make his college football picks. We exchanged gambling pleasantries and I figured once he bought his tickets, he would be out of there. Wrong, Uncle Dan. He returned to his seat and had a fistful of 'free drink' tickets and asked me if I wanted a bloody Mary. Si Senor!

We had a couple of those and he continued to buy for other gamblers and before long, there were 20 guys hanging around just listening to him make us laugh. The only rule he had was when you got your second 'free' drink, you tipped the waitress ten bucks. Needless to say, that was a very happy young lady who never strayed far from our table.

He stayed two hours and all of us shared our stories about bad beats, last minute fumbles, bad calls by the referees, etc until he finally stood up and said VERY loudly, "WHAT A BUNCH OF LOSERS! I CAN'T HANG AROUND YOU ANY LONGER!!" The he gave us a quiet 'good luck' , smiling as he left the sports book.  A short footnote: The next time I ordered a drink and went to pay, the waitress informed me that Norm had left the group a HUNDRED free drink tickets but they were only good that Saturday. We did our best to use them all up but failed miserably. GOD SPEED, NORM MACDONALD.

                                                                 *******

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND ENJOY THE WEATHER!

NOTHING BUT SPORTS

 Boy, it doesn't get any better than this for my birthday! Notre Dame spits the bit and I have a money line bet on the team that beats them plus it basically eliminates the irish from post season glory. SWEEEEEEEEEET!

                                                                        *******

The Bears beat one of the worst teams in football but we'll take it. Justin Fields showed signs of brilliance that you NEVER saw with that mutt, Mitch Trubisky.  Once the Bears replace the current administrative people, things will start looking up. Now on to Las Vegas!

                                                                            *******

Enough of the bullshit from the pro athletes regarding the vaccine. Get it or get out! Cities are mandating vaccinations to attend a large indoor event and unvaccinated ghetto rats like Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins cannot play in their home stadiums, which obviously eliminates their participation in at least 41 games as well as other cities that have the same rules. Kudos to the NBA who came out Friday with their own mandate: Unvaccinated players WILL NOT GET PAID for missing games, which means Kyrie loses about $475,000 PER GAME and Wiggins about $450,000. Good move, guys. We'll see how long this lasts when they start having cars repossessed and houses foreclosed. Your future is as a Wal-Mart greeter, you dumb asses.

                                                      *******

Classic one game wild cards in MLB. The Dodgers host the Cardinals and Boston hosts the Yankees. I like the Dodgers and the visiting Yankees.

                                                  *******

The WHITE SOX open the playoffs in Houston on Thursday and that should be a classic showdown, The ASTROS swept them in early summer but that was without LUIS ROBERT and ELOY JIMENEZ being available.  SHOWTIME BOYS!

                                                                      *******

More later. gotta run.