What is wrong with the Mets?

 I'm a firm believer that if something isn't broken, you don't fix it.

After an epic collapse at the end of the 2025 season the Mets' front office decided to fix the roster when it didn't need to be fixed.

Star 1st baseman Pete Alonso chased the money to Baltimore. He's barely hitting .200 after going 1-4 in a loss to Cleveland on Sunday. A period of adjustment to a new team? Sure.

Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and 1st base coach Antoan Richardson, who was the genius behind the Mets' running game last year, are in Atlanta, and the Braves are back in 1st place in the NL East, while the Mets, with 1st year pitching coach Justin Willard (Who? Exactly!) are in last.

Closer Edwin Diaz, like Alonso, chose to chase the money, and joined the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Diaz has struggled recently, and there are concerns that the knee issues that torpedoed his season in 2023 after the World Baseball Classic have cropped up again. Media reports have suggested a rift between Diaz and Mets management. Diaz and Dodger teammate Enrique "Kike" Hernandez co-produced a documentary about their native land, Puerto Rico, which aired on MLB Network right before this year's WBC. Like, whodathunk?

Utility ace Jeff McNeil has settled in at 2nd base with the Sacramento A's, and tortured both the Mets & Yankees when the A's were in NYC 2 weeks ago.

Outfielder Brandon Nimmo has been raking of late with Texas.

On Sunday, another ex-Met, outfielder Michael Conforto, with his 3rd team since leaving NY, haunted his ex-mates yet again, this time with the Chicago Cubs. His pinch-hit double helped the Cubs come back to sweep the Mets, sending Carlos Mendoza's club to its 11th straight loss.

Fair weather "fans" on reddit, a mostly whiny bunch, are blaming Mendoza because they need a fall guy right now. They're ignoring the obvious signs that it's not entirely Mendoza's fault.

Star slugger Juan Soto is out with a calf injury, and has started rehab. Utility man Jared Young and infielder-DH Jorge Polanco, one of the team's free agent signings in the offseason, joined Soto on the shelf in the last week. As Mets announcers Gary Cohen & Ron Darling pointed out during one of the games against Chicago, the Mets had been a patient group at the plate, but ever since Soto went down, the patience has given way to impatience and nervous energy, and hitters are pressing, as often happens in long losing streaks like this.

One redditor said that some jobroni from Baseball Prospectus, who happens to be a fan of both the Mets & the Jests from New Jersey, claimed that the Mets needed to get out from under Nimmo's contract, which was negotiated by then-GM Billy Eppler. Not buying that at all. Current owner Steve Cohen has enough cheddar to counter-balance that contract, but when you're dealing with a fan base that tends to act like a bunch of entitled children during dark periods like this, there's no reasoning with them. Factor in Scott Boras Badenov giving guys like Alonso bad advice, and, well, there ya go.

The Mets will pull out of this crash dive soon, but not soon enough to satisfy the artificially entitled "fans". I remember saying at the end of last season that Mendoza might not finish out his contract, which is in its 3rd year. Ya know, kids, I hate it when I'm right sometimes.

Two old Office friends reunite (2025)

 The makers of Lavazza coffee might've been hoping folks would get confused with this next spot.

Last fall, Steve Carell & John Krazinski (ex-The Office) reunited, joined by a robot named Luigi, to do a series of spots for the product, like this one, which is still in heavy rotation.

The confusion? The beard Carell is sporting makes him look like George Clooney. Ya don't believe me? Scope!

Clooney was doing ads for Nespresso from Nestle, and also doing vodka ads.

On The Shelf: Firestorm goes rogue, and the Muppets go noir

 Dynamite's trying something, well, radical, with Muppets Noir, a miniseries that not only sends up old school detective mysteries, but paints the gang in completely new lights.

An accident leaves Kermit seemingly in a coma, where he imagines himself as detective Flip Minnow, Fozzie as a cop (!), and it goes from there. Writer-artist Roger Langridge is having some fun. 

Rating: A.

On the other side of the fence is DC's latest version of The Fury of Firestorm. Writer Jeff Lemire is crafting psychological thriller in which the nuclear man has gone completely rogue. Right now, I've got a good idea where this is going.

As a bonus, Firehawk returns to help the police get inside the complex mind of an entity that was once an ally.

Firehawk was introduced in the original Fury of Firestorm series in the 80's, and is a welcome sight.

Rating: A-.

When Ted Wolf pitched ThunderCats to Rankin-Bass back in the 80's, I don't think he'd ever imagined Lion-O and his tribe ever meeting the Silverhawks, who debuted a year later.

Writers Declan Shalvey & Ed Brisson seem to think the two teams belong as part of a shared universe, and the latest step is ThunderCats X Silverhawks, a 5 month event from Dynamite that also gives the 'Cats' arch nemesis, Mumm-Ra, his own series. There's also a scenario where some 'Cats are wearing Silverhawk armor. That may be pushing the envelope just a wee bit too far.

Grade: Incomplete.

After a recent miniseries from Mad Cave comes word that Lee Falk's legendary hero, The Phantom, will get a TV series, streaming on Netflix, I believe, within the next year. A challenge, to be sure, but then, Mad Cave took a chance on Phantom.....! Buffy The Vampire Slayer returns to comics in July at a new home, Dynamite (previously at Dark Horse). Kelly Thompson & Stephen Byrne are the creative team on the new series.....Buffy replaces Thundarr The Barbarian, as that series ends with issue 5 in June. Not enough interest in a 46 year old cartoon. Why am I not surprised?

Dunce Cap Award: Pete Hegseth

 "You can't fix stupid!"---Ron White.

It's clear that defense secretary Pete Hegseth hasn't read a Bible in some time. Why else, then, did he resort to using a Hollywood adaptation of Ezekiel 25:17, dating back some 50 years, at a conference the other day?

In 1994's "Pulp Fiction", one of the characters, played by Samuel L. Jackson, recites a line of verse that paraphrases Ezekiel. This paraphrase originated some 20 years earlier with Sonny Chiba.

The actual verse reads like this:

"I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes, and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them." (New King James translation)

Because this gaffe, like every other mistake made by the current misadministration, has gone viral, Hegseth earned himself a Dunce Cap. All anyone needs do is Google the appropriate verse, or pull out their Bibles. It's that simple.

Believe me, even fictional preachers would have gotten it right.

If you want to know what a real preacher sounds like, check this Billy Graham sermon from 1982.

Unfortunately, Graham's son, Franklin, has also dined on the tree of stupid, supporting the blasphemy of ol' Mango Judas (Donald Trump) from earlier in the week. All Trump is doing, really, is admitting to the world that he is not, and never has been, a Christian. Preachers like Franklin, Paula White-Cain, et al, are pandering to the ego of this pumpkin skinned charlatan.

Just remember, God Himself warned that vengeance is His, and He will repay. Washington ain't exactly Sodom & Gomorrah, but, well........!

Native Americans are complaining about a change to the Washington Commanders' logo. The blame isn't entirely on the team, but rather a certain bloviating meddler

 So the Washington Commanders, a week before the NFL draft, unveiled an updated version of the logo that has been in place since they were the "Washington Football Team" from 2020-2.

Last year's model. Photo courtesy Yahoo!.

This is what the new logo looks like:

Current owner Josh Harris is looking to win back the fans who walked away when the team gave up its original nickname due to pressure from Native American activists six years ago. Two days after the new logo was introduced, comes the backlash from some Native Americans, but the anger should not entirely be on Harris and the team.

Remember, too, that president Trump has demanded the Commanders go back to their old name, and threatened to block them from building a new stadium in Washington (the team plays their home games in Virginia) if they didn't give him what he wanted.

"WAAAH! They never should've changed the name! WAAAAH!"

So, yeah, Harris commissioned a new logo as a compromise to the oldest baby in America to get Trump off his back. That's the best way I can describe it. And I'm part Native American in heritage. A small percentage, sure, but it's there. Trump thinks being president gives him license to meddle in everything not associated with him. He's wrong, and always has been.

My advice to Harris is simple. Put it to a vote, then make it official.

Polident represents its target demographic (1985)

 While I know people sometimes have to get dentures before they reach "retirement age", Polident, in this 1985 ad, shows how some of Hollywood's seniors use the product.

Featuring Martha Raye, Scatman Crothers (ex-Chico & The Man), Henny Youngman, Yvonne DeCarlo (ex-The Munsters), and Danny Thomas, whose last series, I'm a Big Girl Now, was 5 years earlier.

No truth to the rumor that Youngman & his violin had actually recorded any of the background music......

Sports this 'n' that

 What is wrong with the Mets?

The team has dropped 8 in a row, having been swept by the A's and Dodgers over the last six days, and the offense has all but vanished, scoring just 3 runs in the Dodger series.

Part of it, of course, is psychological in the absence of star slugger Juan Soto, on the IL with calf issues. Then, utility man Jared Young tore a meniscus, and he went on the IL on Wednesday. Pitcher Clay Holmes made his start on Wednesday after experiencing hamstring tightness on Friday vs. the A's.

Unsurprisingly, Mets fans on reddit are predicting manager Carlos Mendoza, in his 3rd season, may be gone before the season is over. You can't predict injuries, however, and there are those fair weather types who will hold the front office accountable for letting Pete Alonso (Baltimore), Jeff McNeil (A's), and Brandon Nimmo (Texas) leave after last season, taking away a large chunk of the offense before Soto went down.

Proof that fans in NYC are a finicky bunch.

Is this the final season for the LIV golf tour?

MSN reporters seem to think so, as players are leaving the tour, bit by bit.

The Saudi-backed tour changed networks last year from CW to Fox, hoping the wider reach of the latter might help, but it hasn't helped player morale, it seems.

Stay tuned.

If it was theatre NYC fans wanted the last three nights, they got it at Yankee Stadium.

The Bronx Bombers walked off the LA Angels twice, but the highlight of the series was an epic duel between sluggers Aaron Judge & Mike Trout, who combined for 7 home runs in the 3 games. 4 for Trout, 3 for Judge.

I'd say Mike Trout is finally healthy.

The two outfielders, with 6 MVP awards between them (3 each), and their teams will meet again in Anaheim later this season. If you thought this series was wack, wait for the sequel.

And you know Hollywood loves sequels.

Wide World of Sports signed off ABC years ago, but the way smaller, niche sports are starting leagues, and getting TV deals with ESPN, you'd think Disney would want to revive Wide World.

Like, major league table tennis, anyone? You do know pickleball is a hybrid of table tennis, aka ping pong, and regular tennis, right?

Dumb Donald's latest scam didn't fool anyone. DoorDash should sue

 "Dumb Donald is really dumb!!"--Gene Rayburn, 1973-84, on Match Game.

By now, you've read and/or heard about the DoorDash courier showing up at the White House, bypassing security, etc., to deliver some McDonald's to President Junkfood on Monday. Even a DoorDash courier has to go through security checks just to gain access. That's how it works.

And that was Donald Trump's 1st mistake after the imbroglio over the AI picture, recycled from a couple of years ago, of him dressed like Jesus, that he found and posted on Truthless Social on Sunday.

Turns out that "DoorDash Grandma" is known to Trump and his team.....

I get that Trump was trying to, ah, overcompensate for offending his base on Sunday, but, instead, he made things worse for himself.

Given the prospect that the courier doesn't really work for DoorDash, I'd say the company can consider some kind of litigation for fraud, false representation, etc., but then, they'd have Mango Judas whining and threatening them in return.

Come 2029, however, it's a different story. File it away 'til then. It'll come in handy.

Musical Interlude: Treat Her Right (1965)

 From Hollywood A Go-Go comes singer-dancer Roy Head with "Treat Her Right":

Yowza!

Wartime Mondays: The Fountain of Youth (McHale's Navy, 1964)

 From season 3 of McHale's Navy:

Binghamton insists on going on a mission with the crew of PT-73 in order to win points with Go-Go Granger (Ted Knight). Of course, Binghamton (Joe Flynn) gets more than he bargained for, especially after finding the crew's secret still......

In two weeks: The Wackiest Ship in The Army!

The weekend of GOP stupidity

 Donald Trump won't stop cosplaying as a tough guy.

On Sunday, however, he whined and complained about Pope Leo's bashing of his pointless war with Iran.

"WAAAAHHHHH!!! He should stay out of my business! WAAAAAAAHHHH!"

No, he's not going to, Mango Judas. You had no business starting a conflict with Iran, knowing full well what they are capable of doing to innocent Americans. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops defended the Chicago-born Pope, telling Politico that they're disheartened by your public excoriation of the Pope.

Overnight, the Tangerine Insomniac whined on Truthless Social that Pope Leo is "weak on crime". No, that's not true. He complained that Pope Leo is "terrible for foreign policy". Wrong again, Mango Judas. If you were a true Christian, and we know you're not, and never have been, you would have a better understanding of where the Pope is coming from. But, no, you have to pout like a brat, as usual, because it's all you know.

Worse, Donnie Diapers posted an AI image of himself as a Christ-like figure healing a sick man, mocking not only the Pope, but Jesus as well. Fellow Republicans, including Brilyn Hollyhand, former co-chair of the Republican National Committee's Youth Advisory Council, denounced the image as blasphemy. Pope Leo, for his part, says he doesn't fear the Trump administration. Amen.

Meanwhile, the Department of Injustice, likely on orders from the oldest baby in America, opened an investigation against the National Football League over the allegations of overpricing subscription fees for streamers, which the DOI says is in violation of a 65 year old law, the Sports Broadcasting Act, which is in need of amendment to account for streamers such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Paramount+. That the DOI decided to launch a frivolous investigation speaks more to the fact that the league shut out Trump when he tried to buy three different NFL franchises over the years, including Buffalo & New England. The league's stance is that they didn't want someone like Trump in the league for whatever. Trump's been whining about the NFL ever since he was outbid by the Pegulas for the Bills a few years ago. Then again, the Bills have become perennial AFC contenders, something they likely wouldn't be under Trump. Same with the Patriots, who have had a resurgence this past year, and thrived under Robert Kraft's ownership.

What they're basically saying is that while Trump is a bloviating jackass, he lacks the dignity, maturity, and professional comportment of a Kraft or a Jerry Jones. While Jones is a self-promoter, he's not a shameless carny like Trump.

Basically, the league can tell Todd "Bleached" Blanche, the current acting head of the DOI, to pound sand, and go away. The timing of the investigation, which began two weeks before the draft, is suspicious on its own.

Finally, it turns out that sending VP Just Dumb Vance to Hungary to meet with then-president Viktor Orban turned out to be Trump giving Orban the kiss of death, as Orban was defeated in Sunday's election. Unlike Trump, Orban conceded defeat, ending a 16 year tenure as president.

It should be a sign that Trump should leave well enough alone about matters that do not concern him directly, but you know he won't. His ego dictates he needs a headline a day at the very least. All he did was make Orban the most famous Hungarian since Victor Borge & the Gabor sisters, Eva & Zsa Zsa, and it cost Orban his seat.

Well, the American Safety Council was right. You can learn a lot from a dummy.

The most unlikely commercial pitchman (1974)

 After Night Gallery had ended its run, Rod Serling took on a rare commercial endorsement for Mazda.

The Japanese automaker had made its first inroads in the US four years earlier, but, for now, this was the earliest known commercial available.

I think it was around this time that Serling had begun narrating the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau specials for ABC.

Insight Sundays: The Man From Inner Space (1975)

 "The Man From Inner Space" comes from the pen of William Peter Blatty, the creator of "The Exorcist". It is a fanciful fable of an African-American (Louis Gossett, Jr.) arriving in a spaceship, and taken to the Pentagon. Co-starring James Franciscus (ex-Longstreet, Mr. Novak) & Frank Aletter (ex-It's About Time, Danger Island).

What Might've Been: The Man Called X (1956)

 Some radio shows had a harder time transitioning to television than others. The Man Called X was one of those cases.

Four years after the radio series had ended, ZIV Television acquired the rights to the series, and cast Barry Sullivan in the title role. 39 episodes, spanning two seasons and a calendar year, and done. For that reason, the series didn't continue in reruns after its cancellation.

From season 1, here's "The Maps", with Henry Corden (misspelled "Cordon" in the credits).

No rating. Just a public service.

One of Wrestlemania's oldest traditions is ruined

 41 years ago, Vince McMahon launched Wrestlemania as a closed circuit event from Madison Square Garden. Knowing he needed more than just the wrestlers on his rosters to sell the event, McMahon banked on some additional star power.

He'd already brought in Mr. T (The A-Team) and singer Cyndi Lauper. For the big party, he added boxing icon Muhammad Ali, who'd had a brief dalliance with the company nearly a decade earlier, Yankee legend Billy Martin, and Liberace, who got into the Rockettes' legendary kick line.

Voila! A tradition was born.

In one week's time, however, when Wrestlemania returns to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the celebrity involvement will be lacking the star power of the original.

Country singer Jelly Roll has had previous appearances with WWE. Rapper L'il Yachty? Not so much. Yachty is being positioned as a "hype man" for former NXT champ Trick Williams as he seeks the US title. Before becoming a champion in his own right, Williams was a hype man himself for former US champ Carmelo Hayes when both were in NXT.

Jelly Roll, meanwhile, is thrust into a main event feud involving current champ Cody Rhodes and former champ Randy Orton, who were stablemates 17 years ago. Instead of referencing the past, which has only been done in passing to this point, with a week to go, TKO CEO Ari Emanuel decided the Saturday main event needed some unnecessary extra juice.

Enter Pat McAfee.

Claiming mental exhaustion after a 4 1/2 month college football season kept him from returning to WWE as a commentator, McAfee made a surprise return on April 3, turning heel on Rhodes, and aligning himself with Orton.

On last night's Smackdown, Orton & McAfee stole Rhodes' title belt, adding further fuel to the fire, especially after it got out before Friday that Emanuel is also McAfee's agent.

Conflict of interest, anyone?

If I were a betting man, and I'm not, I'd say Orton's chances of leaving Vegas with his 15th world title were flushed down the drain. He & McAfee are reportedly set for a tag match vs. Rhodes & Jelly Roll at Backlash next month.

The fans would like to ask Emanuel to pass the Pepto-Bismol, this is so bad.

Last year, Emanuel brought in Travis Scott as an emissary for former champ turned TKO board member Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to screw over Rhodes. Neither Johnson nor Scott has been heard from since, and you'd think Emanuel would've learned a lesson after that debacle, but no.

Without addressing Emanuel directly, both Rhodes & CM Punk have taken shots at the TKO frontman this week, leading some to speculate that Johnson would return after all, but why bother, if he's going to skip out again after next week?

If they need a corporate stooge for Rhodes, Punk, or any other babyface to cut promos on this coming week, they already have someone available in Bruce Prichard, long McMahon's right hand man. The artist formerly known as faux evangelist Brother Love would make a good sounding board/victim.

But is Emanuel willing to take that step, as safe as it is?

Stay tuned.

Musical Interlude: A Whale of a Tale (1954)

 I have seen Disney's adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea in a more condensed form when it aired on The Wonderful World of Disney. I don't, however, remember seeing it all, as some parts may have been edited for time.

The only song in the movie was "A Whale of a Tale", co-written by future TV icon Norman Gimbel, and sung by the film's star, Kirk Douglas.

How Douglas never made a musical is beyond me.

Anyway, Douglas appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in December 1954. The world's most famous dimpled chin could've been Popeye if the comic strip hero had been adapted for a feature film back then.....

As Popeye himself would say, well, blow me down!

A little of this & a little of that

 If you were planning on seeing Barry Manilow on his farewell tour, I've got some bad news.

Manilow has postponed a series of dates, including a stop in Albany at the MVP Arena on April 20, due to health concerns. Hold on to your tickets, as they'll be honored when the concerts are rescheduled.

The farewell tour is on hold.

ESPN is taking a ton of heat for its Masters coverage on Thursday.

There were already issues with Jason Kelce (Monday Night Countdown) as an on course reporter. Then, the network doubled down by having WWE superstar Michael "The Miz" Mizanin in a broadcast booth with Laura Rutledge. Give Miz credit, though, for dressing for the occasion, as dapper as usual, in a white & green ensemble. Mizanin was there to promote not only Wrestlemania next weekend, portions of which will air on ESPN, but also his new side gig as host of the Amazon Prime revival of American Gladiators.

 And this was after ESPN was turned down when it requested that Pat McAfee and his crew could set up shop at Augusta, after McAfee had gotten in hot water with WWE fans a week ago for being inserted in a main event storyline at the Show of Shows between Randy Orton & Cody Rhodes, at the request of TKO CEO Ari Emanuel.

Like, if it ain't broken, ya don't fix it, but ESPN & WWE are both guilty of that. Then again, it could've been worse at the Masters.

Stephen A. Smith could've been in Miz's seat.

It's been a happy homecoming so far this week for former Mets utility ace Jeff McNeil.

Back in New York with the A's for series vs. the Yankees & Mets this week, McNeil went 4-8 with an RBI and a run scored as the A's took two of three from the Yanks. Tonight, McNeil returns to Citi Field for a series vs. his former team, for whom he played the first seven seasons of his career. Former Mets prospect JT Ginn gets the start for the A's.

Later this month, Liberty Mutual insurance is retiring the Safeco brand of personal insurance (i.e. homeowners, auto), as all of their insurance products will be under the Liberty Mutual umbrella. You might remember when Liberty Mutual sponsored outdoors programming in the 70's. I caution, however, when you visit the website, you might find mascots Limu Emu & Doug pictured on the site. The commercials are in heavy rotation, but do ya really need a reminder when online? Judge for yourself.

You need experienced negotiators to make a ceasefire happen. Unfortunately, the White House is sending some clowns

 On Wednesday, president Trump announced he was sending a negotiating team to forge a ceasefire between the US, Israel, & Iran. Instead of hiring experienced negotiators, Dumb Donald is sending VP Just Dumb Vance, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

That tells you right away that Trump is looking out, again, for his own self-interest instead of doing it right. The faux tough guy act ain't working with the Iranians, but Dumb Donald keeps trying, such that ABC's Jimmy Kimmel suggested that they should have sent these guys:

Then again, considering Trump & Vance are Washington's answer to Beavis & Butt-Head, well........!

Folks, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Sports this 'n' that

 Once again, Donald Trump is meddling where he doesn't belong.

This time, it's college sports, particularly football.

On April 3, Trump signed an executive order, directing the government to improve collegiate rules as it relates to eligibility, pay-for-play, and, most importantly, the transfer portal. At the same time, the oldest bully in America is threatening schools with loss of federal funding if they do not comply.

The order is set to take effect August 1, right before the start of football season. Included in the order:

Restoring the transfer system to its original model. Apparently, Trump, like a lot of fans, is sick of the transfer portal being used after football & basketball seasons.

"Five for five eligibility". Translated, athletes would have no more than 5 years to fulfill their eligibility requirements.

In other words, Trump wants to force the NCAA to go back to its outdated system. The current system, it seems, confuses Trump. Then again, he's easily confused for a man his age. Progress of any kind, whether it's in sports or in society, offends him.

Well, we've got two words for you, Dumb Donald.

Pound sand.

At the end of the week, the Mets will see an old friend in a visiting uniform for the first time this season.

Jeff McNeil is already in town with the Sacramento A's, as they're playing the Yankees before going across town to Citi Field on Friday. McNeil went 2-3 with a walk & a run scored in a 5-3 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday.

The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are mourning the passing of one of their icons of the 70's.

Davey Lopes was part of the fabled Dodger infield during the 70's and early 80's. Lopes spent the last few years as a coach with the Dodgers & Washington before passing away Tuesday at 80.

Once the Dodgers get back from their road trip, if it hasn't happened already, they'll likely add a patch with Lopes' #15 to honor him.

I don't think it surprises anyone that CarShield's national ad campaign with former major leaguer and MLB Network analyst Eric Byrnes is turning off a lot of people, due to Byrnes' over the top delivery.

Wrestling legend Ric Flair, on his 2nd tour of duty with CarShield, appears at the end of a couple of the ads in a broadcast booth, headset and all. We prefer rapper-actor Ice T (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) over Byrnes any day of the week.

MLB teams are using either active players, like the Yankees' JC Escarra & Oswaldo Cabrera, or retired stars, like Howard Johnson, representing the Mets, in localized ads.

Wild West Wednesdays: The series premiere of Lancer (1968)

 Lancer, some might think, was CBS' long delayed response to NBC's long running Bonanza, except it was on a different night.

In the opener, Murdoch (Andrew Duggan) reunites his two sons, Scott (James Stacy), who has returned home from Boston, and Johnny (Wayne Maunder, ex-Custer), promising them each a share of their land in exchange for driving out some outlaw raiders.

Joe Don Baker and future icon Gordon Jump are among the guest stars.

We'll reach into the Four Star archives in 2 weeks.

WWE 2026 Hall of Fame class

 In 10 days, WWE will induct a new class into the Hall of Fame, part of Wrestlemania weekend, a weekend that also sees unfunny comic Tony Hinchcliffe get roasted, and Fox NFL Sunday analyst Rob Gronkowski, supplanted by Tommy Lee Jones as the pitchman for USAA, hosting an after-party during the weekend.

This year's class:

Stephanie McMahon: You knew this was inevitable, after husband Paul "Triple H" Levesque had been inducted twice as a faction member (Evolution, DX), that Stephanie would get her flowers.

AJ Styles: Newly retired (at least in storyline), Styles (Allen Jones) appears to put a cap on a nearly 30 year career in the business, between WCW, TNA, New Japan, Ring of Honor, & WWE.

Demolition (Ax & Smash): Two time tag team champions in the late 80's, Ax (Bill Eadie) & Smash (Barry Darsow, the 2nd man to essay the role) became just as much an iconic team as the team they were emulating, and would ultimately feud with, the Road Warriors.

Dennis Rodman: The NBA maverick joined the NWO in WCW in the late 90's. Rodman goes into the celebrity wing of the Hall.

Posthumous inductions:

Bad News Brown: Brown (Allen Coage) brought martial arts to the WWE in the late 80's, when he was signed away from Stampede Wrestling in Canada. While he was never a champion in WWE, Brown had memorable feuds with Roddy Piper & Bret Hart. First WWE wrestler to use an enziguri, which was his finisher, under the label, "Ghetto Blaster".

Sid Vicious (aka Sid Justice, Sycho Sid): In one of his last interviews before his passing, Vicious (Sid Eudy) claimed that one reason he hadn't already gone in the Hall was because of issues with Vince McMahon. Along with Demolition, Sid goes in as a case of fan service, and despite being a heel most of his career, he accrued a fan following no matter what.

Memorable moment:

"The slam heard 'round the world" (Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant, Wrestlemania 3, 1987): Nearly 7 years earlier, Hogan was a heel who actually slammed Andre at Shea Stadium, something that was kept quiet because it was a non-televised event. In Pontiac, Michigan, the roles were reversed, with Andre now a heel, managed by Bobby Heenan. Despite a perceived botch, Hogan slammed Andre, leading to the finish of their match. Andre would get a tainted piece of revenge 11 months later.

The fun begins at midnight (ET), or, 9 pm on the West Coast, on April 17.

On The Air: Comics Unleashed (2006)

 Byron Allen (ex-Real People) moved back in front of the camera with Comics Unleashed, a talk show in the style of, say, Politically Incorrect, which launched in syndication in 2006, and ran for 10 years.

CBS first came calling when James Corden decided to end The Late, Late Show a few years back, and Unleashed was added to the network's late night lineup. After Taylor Tomlinson's After Midnight ended last year, Unleashed came out of the bullpen once more.

Today, it was announced that Unleashed will move to 11:35 pm (ET) starting in May after Stephen Colbert and The Late Show come to an end. Allen's revival of the former ABC game show, Funny You Should Ask, hosted by Jon Kelley (ex-Extra), currently in syndication, will slide into the 12:35 am slot.

Now, let's go back to an early episode with Dane Clark, David Brenner, & George Wallace.

No rating. Just a public service.

Dumb Donald keeps poking the bear

 The bear, in this case, would be Iran.

Yes, there is an unpleasant history between the US & Iran, mostly illustrated by the hostage crisis between 1979-81. But, on a day when he should've actually done the smart thing, and gone to church like millions of others, Donald John Judas Trump opted for a sllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooow motorcade through Washington. Sometime Sunday morning, he issued a fresh threat to the Iranian government to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, claiming he'll have power plants & bridges in Iran bombed tomorrow.

In a potty mouthed post on Truthless Social, Trump made this threat, mocking the Iranians by stating, "Praise be to Allah". 

"Open the strait, or I unleash hell!"

That he made this latest threat on Easter, of all days, reminds us again that he is not, and never has been, a Christian, having conned everyone, including the late James Dobson, into believing he'd give his life to Christ. Trump is trying to bully the Iranian government into giving him what he wants. The worst case scenario there is another hostage crisis, more than 45 years later.

Trump is grossly unpopular with most of the country here because a lot of Americans have grown tired of his act. When he talks to news outlets like Fox No News or NBC, you can't really tell if he's telling the truth (he usually isn't). He just gives interviews so he can be on TV and get a headline or three. At the end of the day, it's all about him. It always is. The more he plays up his faux tough guy act, the worse it's going to be for everyone.

Musical Interlude: Johnny B. Goode (1977)

 From season 5 of Happy Days:

Suzi Quatro debuts as Leather Tuscadero, whose sister, Pinky (Roz Kelly), had been written off after her debut a year earlier. A reformed thief turned musician, Leather makes the scene with a cover of Chuck Berry's legendary "Johnny B. Goode", aided by Richie & Potsie (Ron Howard & Anson Williams) on guitar, and Ralph (Donny Most) on the piano. Don't think the guys were actually playing, though, but, rather, miming.

Of course, it's a truncated version on air.

Richie's sister, Joanie (Erin Moran), would join Leather's group, though we don't see her in the above clip.

Erika Kirk gets mocked, threatens to sue. She's wasting her time

 Most of us know Druski from the T-Mobile commercials with Zoe Saldana. Today, more people are finding out about him after a skit he performed went viral, and roused the anger of Erika Kirk, nearly 7 months after the murder of her husband, Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.

Druski, to his credit, checked all the legal boxes before he went ahead and had himself made up as a lookalike for the widow Kirk, though he never mentioned her by name in the skit. In truth, the skit was all about conservative women in general.

Encouraged by fellow right wing dimbulbs, Kirk has threatened to sue, but she has no case. It is the knee-jerk reaction of right wingers to threaten litigation when offended.

Check out this side-by-side comparison between Kirk (on the right) and Druski (on the left):

When the joke is on them, conservatives can't deal with it, which is why you have president Trump and others railing against late night talkers like Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, & Stephen Colbert. No, they'll laugh along with gasbags like Greg Gutfeld & Jesse Watters on Fox No News, or morons like Tony Hinchcliffe. They forget that the late Ronald Reagan, despite his flaws on policy, was beloved because he could not only take a joke, but dish it out with the best of them. The Bushes shared the stage with their mimics, Dana Carvey & Will Ferrell. While we don't know what Trump thinks of James Austin Johnson (Saturday Night Live), he couldn't stand Alec Baldwin's mockery of him.

Druski will be just fine. Erika Kirk drank too much conservative kool-aid to appreciate the humor.

Another domino falls: Pam Bondi dumped as Attorney General

 Frustrated by the inability of the Department of Injustice to prosecute political enemies despite 0 evidence of any crimes, president Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier today.

Reports have Bondi moving into a private sector job after she helps her deputy, Todd "Bleached" Blanche, move into her office, and that she'd already returned home to Florida.

However, there are also reports that have EPA director Lee Zeldin being considered for the AG's job. Unfortunately, Zeldin already has one strike against him, since Trump doesn't like failure of any kind. You'll recall that Zeldin was beaten like a rented goalie nearly 3 1/2 years ago for NY Governor. His work at the EPA has been under the radar while drones like Bondi and former Homeland Insecurity secretary Kristi Gnoem were getting unfavorable headlines.

Blanche has been a personal attorney for Trump before being named to the DOI. As such, Trump wants to wait & see if Blanche can give him what he wants before taking the interim label off. Commentators such as Brian Tyler Cohen are sounding the alarm that House Oversight Committee Chairman Gomer Comer will cancel the deposition for Bondi, scheduled for April 14, to protect the Orange Onion. Democrats on the committee, of course, will force Comer to allow the deposition to take place. That's how scared Republicans are of letting the truth slip free on anything.

The return of South Park can't come fast enough for these clowns.

Already, there are online polls to ask who'd be next to go. Unfortunately, Comer's not on the list, since he'd have to lose his seat via election, but FBI director "Counterfeit" Kash Patel seems to be the frontrunner to be the next scapegoat. We'll probably hear something right around this time next month. 

Stay tuned.

Oh, the blasphemy: A prosperity gospel preacher compares Trump to Jesus

 Donald Trump is not a Christian. Never has been. He pretends to be one to do what he does best, grift his supporters dry.

The last two days have provided us with irrefutable proof, unless you're a MAGA supporter, willfully ignorant of the truth, of this.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Trump is building a "library" in Miami that looks more like a shrine to his overinflated ego, complete with a golden statue in his likeness.

Exodus 32, anyone?

Do the 10 Commandments ring any bells?

The literacy-challenged Trump won't set foot in a church unless he needs to, but he's got enough Christian pastors, mostly the prosperity gospel variety, committing blasphemy by supporting this fraud.

On Wednesday, televangelist Paula White-Cain, wife of Journey keyboard player Jonathan Cain, and an advisor to Trump since 2002, compared Orange Judas to Jesus Himself.

If that golden eagle statue doesn't give away Trump's true motives, what does?

Mrs. Cain drew parallels between the legal issues Trump faced in between terms, a pair of assassination attempts in the last couple of years, and the trials Jesus faced in the New Testament.

Yeah, sure, tell another tall tale.

If anything, Trump is the diametric opposite of Jesus. Selfish instead of selfless. He continues to con the evangelicals and the prosperity gospel types, right along with the rest of the marks, and this is even after he's been on the record stating he's not even sure he's actually going to Heaven.

Spoiler alert: unless he actually has an epiphany that prompts him to publicly accept Jesus as his Savior, his afterlife is trending in the opposite direction. This latest dog & pony show is a distraction from everything else.

News flash: God doesn't like being mocked. Trump will discover the reality of that in due course.

Trading places: Joan Rivers hosts Hollywood Squares (1988)

 From season 2 of The New Hollywood Squares:

During the course of this iteration's three year run (1986-9), producer Rick Rosner was looking for a theme for April Fool's Day.

Well, I've spoiled it already. Joan Rivers swaps places with John Davidson for the day, although it seems Shadoe Stevens didn't get the memo.......!

Nearly 40 years later, Shadoe is heard at the end of this video, as he's now the announcer for the Game Show Vault channel.

During the course of the run, Shadoe and Jm J. Bullock each took turns filling in for Davidson, although, in those cases, Davidson was on vacation. Howard Stern filled Shadoe's cubicle the week Stevens filled in.

No joke: Four judges rule against president Trump on four different cases

 While today is April Fool's Day, president Donald John Pinocchio Trump thinks every day is April Fool's Day, since he deceives his base so, so much.

That being said, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the oldest baby in America is whining that he can't build his precious ballroom at the White House after a judge told him he had overstepped his bounds.

Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled Tuesday that Trump had overstepped his authority by destroying the East Wing of the White House last year, just so he could have a ballroom, even though, if memory serves, the East Wing had a ballroom in it, in the first place.

Trump's argument, baseless as usual, is that he doesn't need Congressional approval for any of his vanity projects.

"WAAAHHHHH! I can do whatever I want! WAAAHHHHH!"

No, you can't. He has raised millions of dollars from donors willing to flatter the Orange Ego to get on his good side. He's a professional grifter, you idiots. Judge Leon sided with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Now, you know that Trump doesn't like being told, "no", on anything. The White House is not his personal property, unlike the land he owns in New York, Palm Beach, etc.. He had no right to destroy the East Wing, just to satisfy a fever dream of his. He wants Mar-a-Lago North, but watch. Once he's out of office, the ballroom, if it's completed at all, will either be torn down, or reconfigured into the new East Wing, and put to better use.

Judge Timothy Kelly declined a bid from Team Pampers to dismiss a suit which claims resident quack Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Department of Health & Human Services broke the law by declining Freedom of Information Act requests.

"WAAAAH! What we do is on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know until we tell you. WAAHHH!"

The cuts to DHHS happened a year ago, challenged by CREW (Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington). The suit is going forward, meaning more whining from Trump is coming.

Judge Randolph Moss said that Trump could not terminate funding for PBS & National Public Radio, stating that it violates the 1st Amendment. The executive order, signed in May is unconstitutional, and has been permanently blocked. Fans of PBS & NPR are rejoicing.

Finally, Judge Amit Mehta is allowing a suit connected to the 1/6/21 riots to move forward. You'll recall that Trump tried to claim presidential immunity, but, as a beaten incumbent candidate, he has no immunity.

"WAAAHHH! I was screwed! WAAAAH!"

No, you weren't, you pathetic sore loser. Your mishandling of COVID cost you the election. Five years later, we have to tell you again to get over it, but you won't listen. If you'd won, you wouldn't be in Washington right now.

With the onset of old age comes the knowledge that Trump just refuses to read anything. Blame it on his ego, and how he was raised, knowing it will lead to his final downfall.