Kamala Harris goes on Fox News. Donald Trump wimps out on interviews on CBS & CNBC

 Bob Raissman, long time sports media columnist for the New York Daily News, refers to interviews that tend to pander to the subject as "twinkie munches". This is why Donald Trump gives a lot of time to Fox No News' Spam Hannity and Laura Inkblot.

He was supposed to appear on a special Monday edition of 60 Minutes 10 days ago, on a show where VP Kamala Harris, his opponent, was also appearing in a separate, pre-taped, interview. Trump wimped out at the last minute, and had his press flunky, Steven Cheung, offer excuses. 60 Minutes co-anchor Scott Pelley, however, had receipts, stating that Cheung, on behalf of Trump, had originally agreed to the interview. Trump, of course, couldn't handle that very well......

"WAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Since then, Trump has cancelled a scheduled interview with CNBC's John Kernan, a conservative commentator.

Wednesday, Trump had a town hall on Fox No News, with Harris Faulkner pitching the usual twinkies in front of a crowd of Trump supporters, all women, and edited to try to avoid the obvious. Meanwhile, Harris was interviewed by Bret Baier, who clearly was under orders from his bosses to try to make Harris look bad. It didn't work. Harris pushed back at Baier. After the interview, Fox No News went into spin mode to try to soothe the damaged psyches of their audience. Pundits like Farron Cousins & Brian Tyler Cohen could see right through the spin, and declared that Baier was made to look like a chump.

With less than three weeks to the election, there are polls that skew in favor of Trump by design. There are polls that consistently favor Harris. The GOP will stop at nothing to try to throw the election in favor of Trump, so he can avoid the inevitable, facing either jail time, or, if his mental issues are as bad as many of us think they are, in a rest home, preferably with rubber padded walls. 

Know this. If Trump does lose on November 5, he'll try to whine and claim it was rigged---again-----because he can't accept losing gracefully. You know you're getting this:

Spook Rock: Danse Macabre (2023)

 Wait. Duran Duran? Spook rock? Yup.

"Danse Macabre" was released a year ago, with the title track as the lead single. The video uses puppets, among other things, with the band in Halloween themed makeup.

2024 ALCS preview

 For the 2nd straight night, sports fans in New York will have their remotes in hand, as the American League Championship Series gets underway, with the Yankees hosting the Cleveland Guardians, while, across the river in New Jersey, the Jets host Buffalo on Monday Night Football. The Yanks-Guardians game gets a headstart, set to begin on TBS just after 7:30 (ET), which should be after the Mets & Dodgers conclude their business at Dodger Stadium.

Alex Cobb gets the start for Cleveland, while Aaron Boone is entrusting Carlos Rodon to open the series for the Yankees. New York will follow with Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, & Luis Gil in games 2-4, in that order.

Cleveland is coming off a 5 game ALDS victory over Central division rival Detroit, reaching the ALCS for the first time in 8 years, hoping to return to the World Series. One would think that the Yankees might be the beneficiaries of extra rest, but as we saw with Dodgers-Mets game 1 last night, that's not always the case. The Dodgers rode the momentum from eliminating San Diego on Friday to a 9-0 rout last night.

Thus, it's the momentum of the Guardians that the Yankees have to blunt, first & foremost. The Bronx Bombers would love to get superstars Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, & Giancarlo Stanton to the Fall Classic, just as much as Cleveland would like to reward their MVP candidate, Jose Ramirez. The Guardians also acquired playoff hero Lane Thomas from Washington at the trade deadline, and Thomas is 5 years removed from winning a ring with the Nationals.

Cleveland would love to have some more positive vibes in the fall, considering the Browns are in the basement of the AFC North at the moment. Fans in New York will be busy all week, between the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Islanders, Jets, and preseason basketall with the Knicks & Nets.

I would concede game 1 to Cleveland if Rodon isn't on his A game, based on what I've seen this season.

That said......

The pick: Yankees in 6.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Musical Interlude: Just so Lonely (1981)

 Up until Chuck Miller posted this next video on his blog on Friday, Get Wet had been consigned to the land of forgotten bands.

The group's lone top 40 hit, "Just so Lonely", peaked at #39 on the Hot 100, but was more successful in Australia, peaking at #15. Go figure. What I do know is that WTRY, when it was home to American Top 40, had this in medium to heavy rotation for a while in the spring-summer of 1981.

The video being set at what looks like a high school dance seems appropriate.......!

It's going to feel like 1988 again. Maybe

 The National League Championship Series is now set, and it's a rematch from 1988, as the Mets will face the Los Angeles Dodgers.

To be fair, no one expected the Mets to get this far, but the addition of veteran infielder Jose Iglesias, now moonlighting as a singer in his spare time, and riding a promotional appearance by McDonald's mascot Grimace at Citi Field, have gotten Carlos Mendoza's club to the NLCS for the first time since 2015. They defeated two divisional champions in Milwaukee and Philadelphia to get here, and taking down perennial NL West champion Los Angeles? That would be icing on the cake.

But, these are not the Dodgers of Tom Lasorda, Orel Herschiser, and friends, any more than these would be a reincarnation of the Keith Hernandez-Gary Carter-Darryl Strawberry Mets of the mid-to-late 80's These Dodgers, in the last two offseasons, acquired Freddie Freeman, long a Met killer from his days in Atlanta, and Shohei Ohtani, whose otherworldly performance this season has all but assured another MVP award, absent a late surge for the Mets' Francisco Lindor.

As for how the Dodgers got here? Check this.

As with the Brewers & Phillies, the Dodgers dominated the regular season series vs. the Mets, but this is not the same Mets team they saw in the spring, not by any stretch. Kodai Senga missed most of the season, save for a spot start in September, and made a cameo appearance in the NLDS. He's going to pitch in the NLCS, facing his countryman Ohtani, to be sure. The Dodgers went the full 5 vs. San Diego, and they should be prepared for a likely 7 game series with the Mets.

A friend asked me the other day if there was a chance for another Subway Series between the Mets & Yankees. Those chances are getting stronger every day.

That said.......

The Pick: Mets in 7.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Musical Interlude: Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1965)

 The current iteration of Herman's Hermits will be hitting the 518 next month as part of a nostalgia tour with Gary Lewis & The Playboys and The Grass Roots. 

But, let's take a trip back to 1965 and The Ed Sullivan Show for Peter Noone and company with "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter":

What Might've Been: The Family Game (1967)

 Imagine The Newlywed Game with kids. Chuck Barris thought this might work just as well, but The Family Game wasn't a big hit.

The Family Game aired on ABC from June-December 1967, with Bob Barker (Truth or Consequences) as host. The series ended up finishing a few days after Christmas.

Nearly 20 years later, Barris tried mounting a new version, with Jeff MacGregor, who'd been entrusted to revive The Dating Game, as host. That pilot went unsold.

Let's take you back to 1967.

No rating. I was only 4 when this was on the air.