Sports this 'n' that

 Earlier this season, Yankees pitcher Domingo German was suspended 10 games for a foreign substance on his hand or glove. Wednesday, German trended in the opposite direction. Then again, it was against Oakland, which beat the Yanks the night before.

German spun a perfect game on just 99 pitches, getting plenty of help from his defense. MLB's YouTube channel highlights all 27 outs recorded by German.

This was the first perfect game in MLB since Seattle's Felix Rodriguez did it against Tampa Bay in 2012.

====================================================

After retiring from the NFL, JJ Watt is moving to television.

After a Hall of Fame-worthy career in Houston & Arizona, Watt joins CBS' NFL Today this fall, which suggests to me that Nate Burleson, whom the network was hoping would be their answer to Michael Strahan over at Fox, since Burleson is also on CBS Mornings, will be leaving the Sunday panel. We'll know for sure come September 10.

====================================================

Mets owner Steve Cohen assured fans that manager Buck Showalter & GM Billy Eppler would remain through the end of the season, hoping the team can finally break out of its malaise that has seen them fall to 4th place in the NL East, 9 games below .500 after losing 3 of 4 to Milwaukee (The Brewers won the season series, 6-1), and threatening to fall out of contention. Fans are antsy, of course, but overreacting. Every team, individual players or as a whole, goes through slumps, and this is no exception.

======================================================

The All-Star Game takes place in Seattle July 11, and the starters were announced Thursday. To illustrate the utter ignorance of parochial fans, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was voted in, despite the fact that he will likely not be able to play due to torn ligaments in his toe. The defending AL HR champ won't be back until probably September, if that.

The starters:

AL:

First base: Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay.

Second base: Marcus Semien, Texas.

Shortstop: Corey Seager, Texas.

Third base: Josh Jung, Texas.

Catcher: Jonah Heim, Texas.

Outfield: Aaron Judge, Yankees, Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay, & Mike Trout, Los Angeles.

Designated Hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles.

NL:

First base: Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles.

Second base: Luis Arraez, Miami.

Shortstop: Orlando Arcia, Atlanta.

Third base: Nolan Arenado, St. Louis.

Catcher: Sean Murphy, Atlanta.

Outfield: Ronald Acuna, Jr., Atlanta, Mookie Betts, Los Angeles, Corbin Carroll, Arizona.

Designated Hitter: J. D. Martinez, Los Angeles.

Pitchers & reserves will be announced soon. Mets fans are hoping for Francisco Lindor to be named as a reserve, and for pitchers Max Scherzer & David Robertson to get a nod, though I doubt Scherzer, who was suspended earlier this season, will end up on the roster.

============================================

It's a little weird knowing that three major US wrestling promotions are all out of the country this weekend.

WWE has Money in The Bank Saturday afternoon in London, England, after tonight's episode of Smackdown airs, likely on same-day tape. The live card tomorrow begins at 3 pm (ET). Impact Wrestling, formerly TNA, is in Australia today & tomorrow, and All Elite Wrestling is wrapping up a week of events in Canada that began with Forbidden Door last Sunday.

Everyone will be back stateside come Monday.

Videos of Summer: Cool Places (1983)

 You might remember this fun little item from MTV back in 1983.

The Go-Go's' Jane Weidlin joins Sparks for the bouncy "Cool Places", the 1st single off Sparks' album, "In Outer Space". Russell Mael flirts with Jane, while brother Ron chews up the scenery

Unfortunately, "Cool Places" fell short of the Top 40, peaking at #49.

Weasel of The Week: One guess

 This can also be filed under "Republican stupidity 101".

Donald John Benny Kubelsky Trump, the biggest miser there is, filed a countersuit against journalist E. Jean Carroll Tuesday through legal beagles Michael Madaio & Alina Habba-Dabba-Doo, seeking to turn the tables on Carroll.

"WAAAAAGGHHHH! I'm not paying you! You pay me! You hurt me! WAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Let's just call this for what it is. It's BS straight up. Trump is delaying as much as possible the money he owes Carroll, and is gaslighting his base into thinking she owes him for "damages", when it's the other way around.

Expect this latest frivolous lawsuit to get tossed into the garbage bin, where it belongs, all because Trump is too cheap to actually pay what he owes. Not even Jack Benny, who played the role of a miser on radio & television, was this crass.

In case you wonder, I did use Benny's birth name in referencing Trump earlier.

Of course, Trump gets another set of Weasel ears for this latest lame stunt. If he wants, he can pass those ears to his pet judge in Florida, Aileen "Shot From a" Cannon, who is catering to Trump by insisting that the 84 witnesses in a trial she's presiding over in Florida be revealed, knowing that Trump will signal his base of brainwashed idiots to hassle those witnesses. I expect the Department of Justice to appeal the ruling, and have it tossed, along with Cannon being disqualified for bias.

As for Trump, well.......

Names making news

 Every now and again, we'll see someone representing the 518 on television, be it a game show (i.e. Jeopardy!), a reality competition (Madison Vandenberg on American Idol, Sawyer Fredericks on The Voice), or, in the case of Rachael Ray, a talk show. 

Add Sean McLaughlin's name to the list.

McLaughlin, the son of Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, will appear on ABC's The Bachelorette this fall, getting his share of the spotlight for the first time. We'll see how he fares. He could wind up a winner like Fredericks, who won on The Voice a few years ago, or he'll end up falling short.

Stay tuned.

=========================================

Ryan Seacrest is making a habit of inheriting someone else's show.

Seacrest, the busiest man in television and radio these days, has been tapped to succeed Pat Sajak as host of Wheel of Fortune, starting with the 2024-5 season. Sajak is retiring after the 2023-4 season, which begins in September.

For Seacrest, this is nothing new.

After Casey Kasem's passing in 2014, Seacrest succeeded the radio & cartoon legend as host of American Top 40. On TV, he stepped down as Kelly Ripa's on-air co-host on Live earlier this year, with Ripa's actor-husband, Mark Consuelos (ex-All My Children, Riverdale) becoming the 3rd co-host, after Seacrest and Michael Strahan, to succeed another icon in Regis Philbin. Seacrest also inherited ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve from its originator, the late Dick Clark.

The poster child for the 36 hour day.

Keep in mind, of course, that the extra work keeps Seacrest busy when American Idol is in its offseason.

==========================================

Budget cuts at Disney could spell the end of Max Kellerman's 2nd go-round at ESPN.

His afternoon talk show, This Just In, is being sacked to make room for Pat McAfee's yack-fest, which doesn't mean McAfee is done with WWE. Unless Max on Boxing, on ESPN2, isn't drawing ratings, there's really no reason to get rid of Kellerman. Fox would welcome him back in a LA minute, and CBS & NBC would break the bank for him, since controversy magnet Screamin' A. Cosell (Stephen A. Smith) isn't leaving ESPN anytime soon, despite the fact he routinely gets exposed as a fraud on a regular basis (which was a reason why Kellerman was booted from First Take).

Do the right thing, ESPN. Keep Kellerman, and muzzle Screamin' A. For all of us rational viewers.

Musical Interlude: Crossfire (1989)

 1989's "In Step" was Stevie Ray Vaughan's last album with Double Trouble before his passing a year later. The first single is the scorching "Crossfire".

Dunce Cap Award: A Georgia peach-head and a 518 traitor

 There is dumb, and then, there is dumb.

Georgia airhead Empty-G (Marjorie Taylor Greene) got the ear of 518 traitor Elise Stefanik the other day, and the two GOPers drafted a resolution hoping (against hope) to expunge the two impeachments levied against former president Donald Trump.

This idiotic idea is dead on arrival, but you can't make these two women understand that. All common sense goes out the door in service to a 77 year old infant. Farron Cousins explains.

As Farron points out, there is no legal means to expunge the impeachments. All they're doing is reminding the voters that Trump was impeached twice (2019, 2021), but acquitted by the Senate, something they forgot. Well, you know what that gets them, and Empty-G has a supply of these:

Enough said.

Matlock is back-----or is (s)he?

 In 1986, Dean Hargrove & Fred Silverman cast comedy icon Andy Griffith in the original Matlock, with Griffith in the title role as a lawyer who might've lost a step or three, but still managed to get the goods on the bad guys. Matlock ran for 9 seasons between NBC & ABC, outlasting Griffith's self-titled CBS series (1960-8), and reruns, at last check, are still on Me-TV, among other places.

In 2023, there's a new Matlock in town. Except this time, it's a woman, and there are meta references, as you'll see in the trailer, to the original.

Kathy Bates lands the lead in the new Matlock, set to debut this fall, but likely delayed to 2024 due to the writers' strike. Check the trailer.

The fact that Matlock is ticketed for CBS this time is not a factor here. However, the network was home to the likes of Murder, She Wrote, Jake & The Fatman, & Diagnosis: Murder, and network suits seem to think that the trend of veteran stars in new roles may be revived. We'll see.

A conversation about cough drops (1970)

NY radio legend William B. Williams served as Sammy Davis, Jr.'s announcer for Davis' variety show in 1967. Three years later, Williams moved in front of the camera to do a commercial for Vicks' cough drops (they'd later slap the Formula 44 brand on the product) with Charlotte Rae (ex-Car 54, Where Are You?)

I wonder how many of these Williams made, if there was more than this one?

Musical Interlude: Running up That Hill (1985)

 British singer-songwriter Kate Bush peaked in the top 30 in the US, and top 3 in the UK with 1985's "Running up That Hill". Now, understand that this is not the video you saw on MTV back in the day. Instead, Kate, with dancer Misha Hervieu performs some interpretative dance for this clip:

A few years later, a local band played a gig where they had a dance troupe perform to the beat of one of their songs. Now I know where the inspiration came from.....

When news was news: Independent News Network (1980)

 Perhaps it was one of the first signs that independent stations, such as WPIX in New York, were ready for network affiliation.

The Independent News Network launched in 1980 on 3 stations. WPIX, and its Tribune-owned sister channels in Denver & Chicago. Long time 'PIX announcer Ralph Lowenstein handled those chores for the nightly news. As the network expanded, so did the INN format. WPIX had long joined the lunch hour news race with an informal half hour around 12:30 (ET), with Lowenstein as the sole anchor, heard but not seen. In 1981, a noon hour edition of INN was added, then cancelled after 5 years in 1986.

For a period in the late 80's, former CBS reporter Morton Dean served as a national anchor before leaving for ABC. Unfortunately, the novelty wore off INN, and Tribune put it to bed for good in 1990 after 10 years.

We have an early broadcast, picked up from WGN, then owned by Tribune.

What Might've Been: Sunday Night, aka Night Music (1988)

 After returning to the helm of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels began branching out. Reruns of SNL's early years, in edited form, were in syndication, and spent a bit of time on MTV. In recent years, Michaels has taken charge of NBC's late night slate, six nights a week, as two of his SNL graduates, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, host Tonight and Late Night, respectively, complementing SNL, which now has repeats in primetime on Saturdays some weeks ahead of the next week's episode.

Maybe NBC should've helped Michaels with this next item.

Sunday Night, later rechristened Michelob Presents Night Music, ran for 2 seasons (1988-90) on Sundays, in a spot where NBC had seemingly abandoned trying a full week of late night programming after trying out reruns of Johnny Carson era Tonight and movies. I actually thought this did air on NBC, but I'm told this was syndicated.

Saxophonist David Sanborn served as series host, often aided by pianist and resident comedy relief Jools Holland, who'd later get his own show. Unfortunately, the show was underpromoted locally, and, I'd imagine, elsewhere, leading to a short run.

By 11:30 pm (ET) on a Sunday, I was usually in bed, as I had to go to work the next morning, so I never saw the show when it first aired. This sample comes from January 1989, and the guest list includes Curtis Mayfield, Taylor Dayne, and David Lindley. Mayfield performs his early 70's solo hit, "Superfly" (title song from the movie of the same name), and jams with Dayne & Lindley on the show closing cover of "People Get Ready", also written by Mayfield. Shinehead rounds out the bill, plus vintage footage of 50's jazzman Coleman Hawkins.

Rating: A.

Proof that desperate people will do desperate things

 For starters, I'm going to let Farron Cousins lay out the talking points:

The one thing Donald John Casanova Trump and Kryin' Kari Lake have in common is that they're both losers in denial. Cleopatra & Marc Antony, they ain't. They're not even The Joker & Harley Quinn before their infamous split in the comics and on Harley's Max series, although that would be a more apt correlation, since Trump & Lake both are a few fries shy of a happy meal these days.

Lake lost her bid for Arizona governor 7 1/2 months ago, but she refuses to concede. Dumb Donald, of course, is still grifting his marks more than 2 1/2 years after his intentional mishandling of COVID cost him a 2nd term. We've all heard of birds of a feather flocking together, but these two couldn't catch a Road Runner if they tried.

Farron suggests that Trump is screwy enough to cross party lines and select renegade Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whose late father & uncles are turning over in their graves over his anti-vaccine and other right wing ideas. Seems he's sniffed too much poisoned Kentucky blue grass, right alongside Rand Paul and other GOPer idiots there.

The fact that Kryin' Kari is virtually taking up residence at Mar-a-Lame-O suggests, as Farron points out, that, yeah, if the VP thing doesn't work, she wants to be the next---or last---bride for the Archduke of Affluenza, should Melania decide to pack up and take Barron aboard Air Force Done. 

But would Florida dictator Ron DeStupid continue to give a blind eye to Trump's non-Christian behavior at Mar-a-Lame-O, or call him out on it? That's for another day, folks. Then again, when was the last time DeStupid, Lake, or Trump saw the inside of a church?

Of course, there's no guarantee that Trump will reach the 2024 election unscathed, but, then..........

The crossover that never happened (1970's)

 Barney Miller & Welcome Back, Kotter both debuted in 1975. Kotter ended in 1979, Miller 3 years later.

This publicity shot, commissioned by ABC, shows what might've happened if the Sweathogs (John Travolta, Ron Palillo, Robert Hegyes, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs) ended up at the 12th Precinct.

This leaves you wondering if Mr. Kotter (Gabe Kaplan) had to bail his students out...........

Hunter Biden took ownership of the crimes he's accused of. Why can't the GOPers see that, and move on?

 You know by now that Hunter Biden, son of the President, agreed to a plea deal which enables him to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of tardy tax returns, let's say. Not quite income tax evasion, per se, and there's also a charge of illegal firearm possession while under the influence of drugs. They're talking probation, zero jail time.

We know that Biden was thinking that maybe that will get the conservative peabrains, like James Combover and Fibber Jordan, off his back. Nope. Combover still wants to investigate Biden for business deals with Ukraine. Bear in mind, President Joe Biden had the option to remove the special prosecutor assigned by his predecessor, Donald Trump, but chose not to, and David Weiss did his job.

In other words, the Bidens are owning the situation. Republicans, especially the extreme right wing dingbats like Combover, Jordan, Empty-G, Hee-Hawley, and, of course, Trump, are having a collective cow over it.

"WAAAHHHH! He's getting off with a slap on the wrist! I'm getting persecuted! WAAAHHHHH!"

The big difference, of course, is that Hunter Biden is being charged with two misdemeanors, while the oldest immature child in America is facing felonies. His crimes are a little more severe than Biden's, and yet he and his followers in Congress whine like babies over a misperceived double standard.

Not only that, but there was a near catfight between Empty-G and Lauren Balloon on the House floor all because the Mile High Airhead introduced an article of impeachment against the President, same as Empty-G has, but neither has anything that would fall under "high crimes & misdemeanors" to justify those articles. They're both whining about the Southern border and all the migrants crossing said border. The immigration department does what it can, and, yes, Antonio Mayorgas is also being targeted for impeachment by Empty-G (again, no high crimes & misdemeanors), which says that this is nothing more than political posturing.

In short, the GOPers have nothing, so they have to create something to placate the marks. Whining about the Southern border and Hunter Biden owning his situation ain't something to complain about, but that's where we're at these days.

Musical Interlude: Goin' Down to Liverpool (1984)

 "Goin' Down to Liverpool", the 2nd single off the Bangles' Columbia debut, "All Over The Place", was originally recorded by Katrina & The Waves a year earlier (and written by guitarist Kimberley Rew) before the Waves had their breakthrough.

Vicki Peterson sings lead here, as the ladies are in the backseat of a limo driven by Leonard Nimoy (ex-Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, In Seatch Of.....). Not quite the same as Tracey Ullman and Paul McCartney ("They Don't Know"), but, hey........

Turns out the Nimoys were friends with Susanna Hoffs and her family. Susanna would remove the curls from her hair in time for the band's next album, "Different Light".

Remember Lum's Restaurants? (1975)

 It's easy to remember the fast food chains around these parts. McDonald's. Wendy's Arby's. Burger King. Chick-Fil-A recently debuted in the 518. Sub enthusiasts can choose from Subway, Jimmy John's, or, at the regional level, Mr. Subb.

I can't recall if there was a Lum's in the 518, though. Oh, like Burger Chef and Carrols (which merged with Burger King), they tried to compete with McDonald's, but an assortment of unfortunate events led to the last Lum's, in Nebraska, closing in 2017.

In the 70's, Lum's made the genius move of hiring comedy legend Milton Berle as a celebrity spokesman. The many faces of Berle are on display in this 1975 spot.

"Uncle Miltie" was doing a lot of TV in the 60's & 70's, including some TV-movies that showed his range as an actor.

What Might've Been: Trump Card (1990)

 No, you're not going to see a certain overexposed demagogue in this next video, even though the show bears his name.

Some genius sold Telepictures & Warner Bros. on the idea of a game show set in Atlantic City, and taped at Trump Castle. Should it surprise anyone at all that Trump Card bombed out after 1 season?

Former football player and later NBC sportscaster Jimmy Cefalo landed his only national gig as a game show host. In fact, I think this was his exit from the national stage. By 1990, getting a 1st run syndicated game show wasn't as easy as you think. Attempted revivals of Tic Tac Dough & Joker's Wild went nowhere, as did a revival of Quiz Kids. Dick Clark's The Challengers, along with Trump Card, lasted the full season before saying good-bye.

Let's take a look at a sample episode:

No rating. Just a public service.

What Might've Been: 100% (US edition)(1999)

 Producer Reg Grundy, who made some inroads in the US in the 80's by acquiring the rights to adapt Scrabble into a game show, and to also revive Sale of The Century. tried something different in the late 90's.

100% was first tried out in England around 1997-8. The MC would remain off camera, asking the contestants the questions. Unfortunately, Grundy and Pearson Television thought this might work here in the US as well, so they mounted a version for American audiences in 1999. Radio legend Casey Kasem was called on to be the unseen host/announcer for the American 100%, which lasted just 1 season.

Locally, 100% failed to land an affiliate. Jeopardy! was too well entrenched by this point, and the other local stations simply weren't interested.

Here's a sample episode. In fact, it is the only one of the American version available on YouTube presently.

Novel idea, but, as noted, US audiences weren't interested.

Rating: A-.

This is not how you respond to an indictment. Ever.

 Tuesday, Donald John Narcissus Trump, having been indicted on 37 counts, including violations of the Espionage Act, stopped at a Miami restaurant in the city's Little Havana section, and tried to con customers there into thinking he'd pay for their meals. Of course, he split, and headed for the airport so he could go back to his other hideaway in New Jersey to whine and cry like the spoiled child he is.

And whine, he did. False accusations leveled at President Biden and his family, and prosecutor Jack Smith (no relation to the former host of You Asked For It). Constantly claiming he's innocent when he's anything but.

"WAAAAHHHHH!! I did nothing wrong! WAAAAHHHHH!"

Stop lying. The Feds have you dead to rights, even if Judge Aileen "Shot From a" Cannon tries to skirt the law in your favor, which won't happen. The minute she makes a mistake, she's off the case. Count on it.

Trump's ambulance chasers, including Christina Bobbs-Her-Hair and Alina Habba-Dabba-Doo, have tried to gaslight television audiences about the Espionage Act and the Presidential Records Act in an effort to justify Citizen Pampers refusing to turn over all of his records once he left office in 2021. They're catering to this man-child's elementary school level mindset that he's entitled to those records. He's not. I'd be willing to bet he always had someone do his homework for him back in the day.

Now, allies of the oldest baby in America are demanding all of Trump's primary challengers promise to pardon him if they win the election.

Seriously? The Republican Party needs to distance itself from Trump yesterday.

Trump shouldn't be pardoned at all. All these years of being pampered and protected because of his wealth and his family name gets put aside now, because he went too far over the line.

Put it another way. School bullies grow out of that phase, and eventually become respectable citizens when they get jobs. Trump just turned 77 earlier this week. Next year at this time, he'll be running the risk spending his birthday in a giant playpen with rubber walls, if you get my drift, and we'll still get this:

Let that be your epitaph, Diaper Don.

Of Recent Vintage: Stump The Schwab (2004)

 ESPN's Stump The Schwab was the network's answer, albeit a few years later, to Win Ben Stein's Money over at Comedy Central. Howie Schwab was the network's 1st statistician, and the series was created to mark 25 yeas with ESPN.

Stuart Scott, the late, beloved SportsCenter anchor, served as host. Unlike Stein, Schwab didn't become a contestant until the end game, where he went one-on-one with one of the contestants. The series ran for 4 "seasons" across two years (2004-6).

Let's check a sample episode.

Fun while it lasted.

Rating: A-.

Sports this 'n' that

 Congratulations to the Denver Nuggets, who won their first NBA title Monday, defeating Miami in 5 games.

The NHL Stanley Cup Finals could end tonight if Las Vegas closes out Florida, also in 5 games.

=============================================

Six months after returning home from Russia, Phoenix Mercury star Britney Griner ran into some difficulty at an airport in Dallas over the weekend due to a YouTube scuzz looking to create a problem.

Alex Stein reportedly approached Griner, bent on asking some questions about her detention in Russia between February-December 2022, while she was with her team. Security cut off Stein, who left the airport in the company of a female companion.

Stein was looking for trouble, then ran off to avoid accountability. Real journalists don't do that, and I don't think Stein knows anything about proper journalism or took classes. He's just a punk, and----wait for it----a Weasel. If he tries again confronting Griner the way he did on Saturday, he should be hauled off to jail. Period.

=================================================

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) is looking at moving the 2025 Belmont Stakes to Saratoga while Belmont undergoes renovations for the first time in nearly 60 years. Something tells me that's just the start, and if they do go to Saratoga, they'll expand the usual summer meet beyond its usual mid-July-to-Labor Day schedule, and start in June. They're also talking about winterizing the track at Belmont, just as they did at Aqueduct years ago.

==================================================

XFL co-owner Dwayne Johnson is reporting that the league lost upwards of $60 million this season, but that the snakebitten league would return in 2024, which would mark the first time the XFL would play in back-to-back seasons.

What Might've Been: Here's Boomer (1980)

 NBC, slowly making its way out of the ratings basement, wanted to come up with something that could appeal to families, something like the "Benji" movies or Canada's Littlest Hobo.

In the spring of 1980, the network inserted Here's Boomer on Friday nights at 8 (ET). Like the German shepherd star of Littlest Hobo, Boomer wandered here, there, and everywhere, helping people in need.

Unfortunately, NBC had no room for Boomer on their fall schedule, but the series would, in fact, return the following spring for another run. After all the hype, the show aired on the wrong night in its first season. CBS owned Fridays by that point with Incredible Hulk and The Dukes of Hazzard.

An idiot on Wikipedia tried to claim that this show was a spinoff from a failed Saturday morning series, The Red Hand Gang, just because Boomer shared the same name as the dog on that show. William D'Angelo's production company packaged Red Hand. Boomer came from Paramount. Big difference, along with the 2 1/2 years in between series.

From April 1980, here's "Overboard", with guest stars Scott Baio (Happy Days), Tracey Gold, Frank Welker, and Charles Siebert (Trapper John, MD).

No rating. We were a Hulk/Dukes house if baseball wasn't on.

Sports this 'n' that

 As the field is pared to the final 8 for the 2023 College World Series, one of the most lopsided games of the year took place earlier today.

Alabama is known mostly for their ridiculous football program, which netted coach Nick Saban an endorsement deal with AFLAC a few years back. Baseball, though, is another story.

The Crimson Tide, representing the SEC, got blown off the field by Wake Forest (ACC) earlier, 22-5. The Demon Deacons went homer happy during the game as the ball was flying out of the ballpark. To their credit, Alabama got in on the act early, but Wake Forest pulled away, and there was no mercy rule in this game. The Deacons advance to the CWS later this week.

==========================================

Yankees radio announcer John Sterling may need to be checked for a concussion before tonight's game vs. the Boston Red Sox.

In Saturday's game, the 80-something Sterling was hit in the face with a foul ball hit by Boston's Justin Turner. Turner grounded out, and Sterling finished the game, which the Yankees won.

File photo courtesy Yahoo!.

Sterling has called more than 5000 games for the Yankees, and has been doing road games remotely of late, where his advanced age has betrayed him, miscalling foul balls as homers, and vice versa. Sterling has also been an announcer for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks during his career.

===================================================

The late Joe Garagiola titled one of his books, Baseball is a Funny Game. These days, in youth baseball, some parents are taking things a little bit too seriously.

While I haven't heard of too many incidents in the 518, else there might've been something written up over at Tri-City SportsBeat, there've been reports in New England about umpires refusing to work little league games because of parents and coaches getting a little too aggressive, and getting too physical with the arbiters.

This isn't just because certain parents think their kids are getting the shaft by not playing, oh, no. They think the umpires are screwing their kids with bad calls, just because they see their favorite pro teams get similar calls on TV, and they get paranoid.

It's just a game. If you think you can do a better job as an umpire, well, try out for the gig, and I don't mean just show up and audition, either, effendi. Learn the trade, as if it were just another job. Umpires and referees are not perfect. However, they are human, and need to be treated with respect like the players.

Former President Harry Truman said it best. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, or, in this case, get out of the ballpark.

Donald Trump indicted again. Of course, he's claiming innocence

 This time, it's about taking classified documents home with him from the White House two years ago, but Donald Trump is in trouble again. The former president claims he has the right to take documents with him as if they were personal possessions, but in this case, these classified documents were actually not allowed to leave Washington for any reason, something Trump doesn't publicly want to comprehend.

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell & Rachel Maddow break it down:

Actor-turned-pundit Michael Rapaport (ex-The War at Home) recorded a video on his phone and invoked some Britney Spears lyrics. The usual online commentators (i.e. Glenn Kirschner, Brian Tyler Cohen, David Pakman) are weighing in. They all know that Trump will use this to do what he does best, grift off his supporters so he doesn't have to spend any money himself.

But, why wait until Tuesday? Trump is in New Jersey this weekend, and giving him four days to concoct more excuses to grift shouldn't be happening, unless his birthday is this weekend. If you've seen what's been happening here at home, local GOPers don't wait. They own their situations, and go to court at first opportunity.

Personally, the only gifts Trump should get for his birthday are these:

A week's worth of orange prison jumpsuits.

A case of Depends.

A baby rattle.

He's going to need them when he goes to either a country club prison or a psychiatric hospital.

Update, 2:38 pm (ET): The indictment has been unsealed, and Trump faces 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act, 37 charges in all. The Department of Justice will issue a statement later this afternoon.

Death has been busy

 It's been a busy week for celebrity passings.

On Sunday, former major league pitcher, coach, & manager Roger Craig passed away at 93. Craig pitched for the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in the 50's, and was an original member of the Mets in 1962. He would later gain fame anew as a manager with the San Francisco Giants, and is credited with creating the split-fingered fastball, a popular pitch from the 70's through the present.

We're learning that Grammy winning pianist George Winston, who was a pioneer of what was known as "New Age" music in the 80's, more than a decade into his career, also passed on Sunday. He'd be in ill health, and had planned on another tour next year.

This morning, we're reading of the passing of CBN founder Pat Robertson, also at 93.

Robertson launched The 700 Club as a local program in 1961, and stepped down as host in 2021, passing the baton to son Gordon, who had been a regular for the last few years.

Robertson also founded Regent University in Virginia, a lesser known Christian college in comparison to Liberty University, founded by one of Robertson's contemporaries, Jerry Falwell.

In the 52 years The 700 Club has been on the air, Robertson has interviewed at least 3 presidents. Jimmy Carter, Donald Trump, and, in this 1985 interview, Ronald Reagan. 

The video is courtesy of the Reagan Library's YouTube channel.

Robertson was one of the prominent evangelical leaders to turn his back on Trump after Trump lost the 2020 election, declaring that Trump, as most of us know, is living in an alternate reality. An easy way to explain away Trump's continuing public delusion that he was robbed of the re-election.

However, Robertson also has made headlines for the wrong reasons, too. He has blamed disasters like Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, and Sandy on the increasing inclusiveness of our society, claiming that God was punishing this country. Those proclamations were the first signs that Robertson had lost his touch with his audience.

Today, God has called him home.

Sports this 'n' that

 It doesn't happen very often.

Smoke from a series of wildfires in Canada has made its way across the border into the US, and, today, it has forced postponement of two major league baseball games, a soccer match, and a WNBA game, as well as a game in the 518.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) alerts have been in effect since Tuesday, and will continue into tomorrow, according to the latest reports.

In New York and New Jersey, the Yankees, the Red Bulls (Major League Soccer), & Liberty (WNBA) postponed their games tonight, as did the Phillies & Tigers in Philadelphia. Closer to home, the Albany Dutchmen postponed their game vs. the Glens Falls Dragons. Not even the rain last night and tonight has been able to stop the smoke, which has actually made its way indoors, prompting the Liberty to postpone their game in Brooklyn.

At a time when we need rain, we're not getting enough.

=========================================

Subway's current ad campaign, fronted by former NBA star Charles Barkley, has added Madison Avenue's favorite ex-athlete, Peyton Manning, to their roster. Manning also did some spots for Bush's Baked Beans with their mascot, Duke.

Forget the commercials, just cast him in a remake of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" already. That's the kind of film that would be his speed.

===========================================

ESPN bloviator Stephen A. Smith crossed into "enemy territory", appearing on Fox No News with Spam Hannity Tuesday.

Smith, who identifies as a registered independent, ragged on both the GOP & Democrats, and didn't flinch when Hannity tried to bait him with a "gotcha" question. Well, at least he's smart enough to recognize those kinds of questions.

==============================================

Pro wrestling lost another of its legends earlier today.

Hussein Khosrow Vaziri, more commonly known as the Iron Sheik, passed away at the age of 83. Vaziri emigrated to the US more than 50 years ago, and was an assistant coach on the 1972 US Olympic team. He soon turned pro, and won his only world title in 1983, defeating Bob Backlund, only to drop the title a month later to Hulk Hogan, and, well, you know the rest of that story.

File photo courtesy Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The Sheik would add a tag team title with Nikolai Volkoff in 1985, and that would be the last title he'd win with what is now WWE. Vaziri retired in 2010, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He became a cult favorite, appearing on Howard Stern's talk show frequently, and, through his nephews' assistance, would post on Twitter, continuing to diss his old nemesis Hogan.

Rest in peace.

Musical Interlude: All Those Years Ago (1981)

 George Harrison's "All Those Years Ago", a tribute to John Lennon, was released a month before ye scribe graduated from high school. The video is a montage of Beatles clips, including footage from "Help" & "A Hard Day's Night". Unofficially, it was a Beatles reunion of the surviving members, as Paul McCartney, along with then-wife Linda, contributed vocals, and Ringo Starr was on drums. Other guests included the McCartneys' Wings bandmate, Denny Laine, and Al Kooper. 

"Years" peaked at #2 on the Hot 100, blocked by Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis' Eyes".

Sports this 'n' that

 "In the end, there can be only one."---Tag line from the Highlander TV & movie series.

It was announced earlier this morning that the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Tour will merge to form one global golf entity. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will be the financial entity in charge of the newly expanded tour, ending more than a year of acrimony and litigation. Players who left the PGA Tour for LIV will apply for reinstatement to the former next year at the earliest.

I can't say for sure, but I'd imagine the ratings for the LIV broadcasts on CW are nowhere close to what they would be for the PGA on NBC, ABC, CBS, and their accompanying cable & streaming partners (i.e. ESPN, Peacock). Can't think of any other reason for the merger, other than bringing the two groups together for the sake of the game.

=============================================

Former Mets ace Jacob deGrom was moved to the 60 day injured list by the Texas Rangers on Monday. The surprising Rangers have found out the hard way that deGrom's injury problems have not been left behind when he left the Mets for Arlington in the off-season.

Apparently, without deGrom, the Rangers are continuing to struggle to sell tickets at Globe Life Field, despite the team's early success. Stay tuned.

=============================================

The Vegas Golden Knights, in their 6th season, lead the Florida Panthers, 2-0 in games, in the Stanley Cup Finals after blitzing the Panthers, 7-2, on Monday. The Knights have reached the postseason in 5 of its 6 seasons, very rare for an expansion franchise.

Their early success, one can assume, became the impetus for the NFL Raiders to abandon Oakland for the 2nd time, and relocate to Las Vegas, and now, as previously reported, there are rumors of the Oakland A's seeking to move to Vegas as well. "Sin City" also has the WNBA's Aces, and it probably is inevitable that a NBA team will be placed there, too.

To think that a generation ago, sports in Las Vegas meant college basketball, and little else. Times have changed.

================================================

The next time you see this man, he may be wearing a new uniform.

The Mets designated catcher Tomas Nido for assignment on Monday, clearing a roster spot for fellow receiver Omar Narvaez, one of the team's free agent acquisitions last offseason. Narvaez was activated from the IL on Monday, and should see action as the Mets visit Atlanta, starting tonight. Narvaez will share time with rookie Francisco Alvarez, who has added some much needed punch to the position with 8 homers, although Toronto shut down Alvarez & the Mets over the weekend. The Mets have 10 days to decide what to do with Nido, and it appears that they are open to trading him. An early season slump, coupled with injuries and the emergence of Alvarez, sealed Nido's fate.

===========================================

It's just a curious coincidence, but a Boston Celtics fan is convinced that singer Taylor Swift's current tour is jinxing some NBA teams, including the Celtics.

Swift's current tour has seen her in Atlanta, where the Hawks were dusted in an early round by Boston. Same thing with Philadelphia last month. However, the Celtics were, in turn, eliminated by Miami in the Eastern Conference finals soon after, setting up the current finals vs. Denver, with the series tied at a game apiece with game 3 set for tomorrow in Miami.

Swift's "Eras" tour hits Denver next month, long after the finals end. The fact that Miami is not yet on Swift's tour itinerary has some folks believing the Heat will win the title. Maybe, maybe not. Stay tuned.

As the GOPer field grows, one decides against running for President

 2nd generation politician Chris Sununu, the governor of New Hampshire, announced today he would not be running for president in 2024.

His rationale? The fewer candidates in the Republican primaries, the less chance former president Donald Trump has of getting the nomination.

The Republicans stand a better chance of retaking the White House if their candidate in 2024 is anyone other than Trump or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is hinting at making another run at the White House. Sununu would be one of the better choices, but he's thinking of the bigger picture, and that's keeping Trump away from the White House. Trump is too toxic, but try explaining that to his base of suburban, disenfranchised yokels, who probably think fast food is healthy food, since it works for Trump. We're being reminded on a regular basis that DeSantis' irrational agenda in Florida won't play well nationally, since he's thought of a Trump clone, despite the fact that the oldest baby in the world hates his guts.

But, look at it this way. We finally found a rational Republican.

Sillier than the first: Shazam!: Fury of The Gods (2023)

 Over the last 35 years, Billy Batson and the "original" Captain Marvel have had their shared origin revamped and rebooted multiple times. Now might be a good time to do another tweak, so that the next time Billy appears in a movie, he's not such a naive twit any longer when in costume.

"Shazam!: Fury of The Gods" is another campy family comedy, much more so than the first film. Shazam (Zachary Levi) confuses a pediatrician with a therapist when trying to discuss his feelings about his foster family. The daughters of the Titan Atlas have entered our realm, bent on revenge. The youngest of the three falls for Freddy Freeman, and, well, you could've seen it coming a mile away.

Helen Mirren & Lucy Liu are the big ticket villains here. Diedrich Bader (currently heard on Harley Quinn) cameos as a high school teacher. As everyone knows by now, Gal Gadot appears briefly as Wonder Woman, whom, it seems, Billy/Shazam has a crush on.

Check the trailer:

If you look quick, TV's original Billy Batson, Michael Gray, also makes an appearance, attired in a certain red shirt with a yellow collar, one that appears to be nearly 50 years old.

There are some awkward moments, unsurprisingly, including some product placement in a key moment. A certain candy company should be well compensated.

This was actually goofier than the first film, but if/when there is a 3rd film, Shazam needs to be more serious and assertive. Yes, the original concept by CC Beck more than 80 years ago allowed for some light comedy, and, ultimately, today's audience is going to want Shazam to be taken more seriously on the order of his greatest contemporary, Superman.

Rating: B-.

When MTV meant something: MTV Top 20 Video Countdown (1984)

In 1984, MTV began to gradually reformat its schedule, adding a weekly countdown program as their answer to the syndicated America's Top 10 (and its radio parent, American Top 40).

The MTV Top 20 Video Countdown would premiere on Fridays at 8 pm (ET), with replays on Saturday afternoons & Sunday mornings. Mark Goodman served as the series host, though the other VJ's would fill in periodically when Goodman took some vacation time.

Unfortunately, as MTV's format changed for the worse, the countdown was discontinued, and the less said about that, the better. After Goodman departed in 1987, Adam Curry took over as host, with Daisy Fuentes and John Norris following. I think Norris might've been the last host when the series ended.

Anyway, we have a shell video from the opener, reportedly from March 1984, 2 1/2 years after MTV's launch. Network bumpers, and Goodman's intros, are included, but certain videos are not due to YouTube rules and copyright policies.

Rating: A-.

If you don't know what you're talking about, keep quiet

Republicans love it when their voter base is kept ignorant of facts & details.

That, then, would explain a total moron like Benny Johnson, who works for Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA group, and a serial plagiarist, to boot, to claim that Jesus was "intolerant".

To borrow from the late Joan Rivers, can we talk?

Jesus preached love, tolerance, and respect. Apparently, if Johnson has ever cracked open a Bible, he hasn't reached the New Testament yet, because he doesn't know what he's talking about, any more than Kirk and the rest of the GOP Idiot Brigade claim to.

Jesse Dollemore explains:

The problem with "evangelical" Christians today is that they make more use of the Old Testament, all but ignorant of the New Testament. They don't expect their voter base to be in church on Sunday, and thus can mislead them without consequence.

Like those seat belt safety commercials, you can learn a lot from a dummy.

Rockin' Funnies: Leader of The Pack (1985)

 Twisted Sister's cover of The Shangri-Las' "Leader of The Pack" was the 1st single from 1985's "Come Out & Play".

Wacky, in a Looney Tunes kind of way.

Sports this 'n' that

 Former major leaguer Steve Garvey is mulling a run for Senate in California.

Garvey spent his entire playing career in Southern California with the Los Angeles Dodgers & San Diego Padres, winning a World Series with the Dodgers over the Yankees in 1981, and has been largely out of the media spotlight since retiring while with San Diego in the late 80s.

=================================================

The Mets beat up on former teammate Taijuan Walker Thursday in sweeping Philadelphia, 4-2. Walker was lifted after 4 innings while Max Scherzer went seven and fanned 9. The Mets will see another of their former hurlers tonight as Chris Bassitt returns to Citi Field with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Speaking of the Jays, reliever Anthony Bass has gotten himself in some hot water with some less than charitable remarks of late, and was booed at Rogers Centre the other night. He ain't long for the Great White North, to be sure.

==================================================

The Royal & Ancient, the folks in charge of The Open Championship (we know it as the British Open) have chosen to exclude the Turnberry course in Scotland for future tournaments. Why? The course is owned by the World's Oldest Baby, Donald Trump. Can't blame them for not wanting the circus that follows the Archduke of Affluenza everywhere.

You can imagine Trump's reaction:

==================================================

ESPN, due to Disney-mandated layoffs, may be thinking of ending Max Kellerman's 2nd tour of duty with the network.

Kellerman hosts two programs, and is part of ESPN Radio's morning team. Certain reports are assuming he'd be dumped to make room for Pat McAfee's show, which would replace This Just In weekday afternoons.

Anyone think that Screamin' A. Cosell may have something to do with planting the rumors about Kellerman?

===================================================

Across the dial, Skip Bayless has lost another partner.

Ex-NFL player Shannon Sharpe is leaving FS1's Undisputed, taking his podcast with him. FS1 hasn't announced who'd take his place across the table from Bayless. Sharpe felt out of place discussing subjects not related to football. I'd lay odds he heads back to CBS. 

How about reconfiguring Undisputed into more of a Pardon The Interruption clone and find another journalist to team with Bayless?  Just asking.

A tale of two candidates

 Citizen Pampers may be leading Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in certain polls, but where DeSantis actually has an advantage over Pampers is the fact that he actually dresses more appropriately for certain locations for rallies.

No matter where he goes, Donald John Narcissus Trump wears the same dark blue suit and red tie. He's probably got 2 dozen of those in storage at Mar-a-Lame-O. DeSantis, on the other hand, swapped his suit for some casual shirts and jeans. That would work here in the 518, I'll give him that.

Ever think of trying different colors?

At a recent rally, DeSantis reminded that Trump can only have another single four year term if he is elected next year, and that, actually, is increasingly doubtful, given Trump's myriad of legal problems. DeSantis, were he to win, would stand a chance at two terms, provided, of course, he doesn't screw up like Trump did 3 years ago.

But, to hear Trump tell it, DeSantis is wrong........

"WAAAAAHHHH! If I win, I want two terms! WAAAAAHHHH!"

If you bothered to actually take a history course, Fraud Fauntleroy, you'd know that Grover Cleveland served two separate four year terms. The rules don't change if you are elected four years after your failed bid for a 2nd term. You're still running for that 2nd term. 8 years is the max, regardless.

Somehow, it isn't going to matter, if the Democrats decided to find a younger, stronger candidate to succeed Joe Biden. There's also the matter of image repair for the GOP. That should be priority one, especially if it means cleansing the GOP of demagogues like Trump, DeSantis, Hee-Hawley, Empty-G, Timex Cruz, and the rest of the idiots.

Think about that.