Don't look now, but the Knicks may have just gotten the kiss of death

 On Wednesday, the Knicks will play their first NBA Finals game since 1999. Their opponent will be decided on Sunday in game 7 of the Western Conference finals between San Antonio & Oklahoma City, after the Spurs won last night to force the series to its limit.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is a Knicks fan, and has paid for his tickets out of pocket. He'll be there for game 3 on June 8. He just won't be sharing space with a parasite who wants to bigfoot the Finals to boost his own ego.

Yep, Donald Trump says Knicks owner and fellow man-child James Dolan has invited him to Madison Square Garden. Trump & Dolan are old friends, cut from the same cloth. You know what they say about birds of a feather.....!

The real reason President Pampers wants to go to the game is so he can leech off the success the Knicks have had after beating Indiana, Philadelphia, & Cleveland to reach the Finals. He won't be at Celebrity Row with the likes of Spike Lee, oh, no. He'll have a skybox, surrounded by Secret Service agents and Dolan's personal security team. There will be a pool on how often ABC's cameras will focus on him during the game.

Dolan already has a Stanley Cup, which the Rangers won in 1994. He sold the WNBA Liberty before they won a title. He'd like to add an NBA title to his portfolio, but, I wouldn't count on it. If Trump is a man of his word, and that's usually questionable at best, given his penchant for lies & embellishments, Dolan may have to wait at least another year for the title, since Trump's presence likely dooms the Knicks.

Trump's presence at MSG likely takes viewers away from ABC, as well. He's not exactly the most popular president, despite his own claims to the contrary.

My advice to Melania is this. Strap him into a straitjacket, strap him to a chair, and let him watch the game at home.

Musical Interlude: Paradise medley (2025)

 The Steps of Faith Foundation is a non-profit in the midwest that hosts the annual ThunderGong event to raise money for disabled persons.

Last year's ThunderGong show, and earlier ones, have featured actors Jason Sudeikis & Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso), Will Forte (ex-Saturday Night Live, The Last Man on Earth), and musical headliner "Weird" Al Yankovic.

From last year, Richardson, Sudeikis, & Yankovic do a medley of songs with "Paradise" in the title, starting with Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise", which begat the late Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise", which, in turn, led to Yankovic's "Amish Paradise"........

There's more where this came from, including Forte & Yankovic's cover of Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club", down the road.

This week in GOP stupidity

 No sooner had Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won a GOP primary over Rep. John Cornyn on Tuesday, setting up a general election against Democrat James Talarico, than the mudslinging started, and president Trump's favorite troll, Stephen Miller, stuck both feet in his mouth, accusing Talarico of being transgender.

Photo courtesy MSN.

Paxton stamped his own stupid card by cherry picking some older comments Talarico made, just to try to smear the Democrat. Talarico owned up to what he described as some "cringey" remarks made a while ago that, in his words, "missed the mark". He accused Paxton of doing the cherry-picking to distract from his own corruption.

On one hand, it could still be a win-win for Texans. If Paxton wins, he leaves the AG's office. If he loses, his days as AG are still numbered.

A Chicago ambulance chaser loyal to president Trump wants to launch an investigation into whether or not E. Jean Carroll committed perjury in the two trials she won over Trump.

You know what this is about. Trump is still refusing to pay the over $85 million he owes Carroll, and now wants to smear her again, this time because after she'd said under oath she'd not gotten any outside help, it was reported that she did. President Skinflint is too scared to part with his own money, hence his non-stop grifting.

"WAAAHHH! She lied. She needs to go to jail!"

No, Dumb Donald. That ain't happening. You have an allergy to paying out of pocket. You & Carroll are the only ones who know the truth about that encounter at Bergdorf-Goodman 30+ years ago, and you're so scared you'll be ruined for good. Well, guess what, bub? You ruined yourself.

You also flushed whatever goodwill came your way by bypassing Don, Jr.'s wedding last week by being your usual self on Monday, with the juvenile insults hurled at Democrats and others.

Meanwhile, former president Joe Biden is suing the Department of Injustice over some communications he had with his ghostwriter on his memoirs that had previously been used in a long closed investigation.

Prediction: Todd "Bleached" Blanche ain't long for the AG's office. To his credit, he's recused himself from the Carroll case, since he was one of the ambulance chasers, along with Alina Habba, that was defeated. Dumb Donald should take note of that, and start doing something he's very afraid of. Deep thinking.

Wild West Wednesdays: The Rebel (1959)

 Mark Goodson & Bill Todman, better known for the bazillion game shows they produced from the 50's until Todman's passing in the 80's, also were Western fans.

However, their two Westerns, Branded, with Chuck Connors (1965-7), and our next entry, The Rebel, didn't get very far.

Nick Adams toplined Rebel as Johnny Yuma, a former Confederate soldier wandering through the post-Civil War West. Like Branded, Rebel went 2 seasons (1959-61), but also spawned a spin-off, the one season entry, The Yank (previously reviewed).

Country icon Johnny Cash not only recorded the show's theme song, but he also guest stars in this season 1 entry.

Post-Rebel, Adams went back to making movies, leading up to a 1-year crime drama, Saints & Sinners, for Four Star & NBC, in 1962. Adams passed away in 1968.

Dunce Cap Award: Bill Murphy

 Baseball's Automated Ball Strike (ABS) Challenge is like instant replay. Once the final decision is rendered, you can't argue.

Seems the heat got to Pittsburgh pitching coach Bill Murphy the other day, and, well........!

It hadn't dawned on Murphy that his team won the challenge. Manager Don Kelly was tossed on the next play, as the video shows.

This is just too easy. You know what's headed Murphy's way.....

Wartime Mondays: The series premiere of Combat! (1962)

 For Memorial Day, as a way of honoring our fallen servicemen & women, we present the series premiere of Combat!, "Forgotten Front". Actor-comedian Shecky Greene co-stars with Vic Morrow & Rick Jason.

Classic TV: The Nine Lives of Elfego Baga (1958)

 The Nine Lives of Elfego Baga was a 10 part miniseries stretched across two seasons of Walt Disney Presents, specifically seasons 5-6, from 1958-60. Robert Loggia, in his first series role, played Baga. Episodes were later repackaged for feature films.

Walt Disney himself introduces the opening chapter.

Six years after the miniseries ended, Loggia returned with T. H. E. Cat, and it was another decade plus before Mancuso, FBI. Both lasted one season apiece. Loggia would experience greater success in films in the 80's & 90's, including "Big" with Tom Hanks, and "Innocent Blood".

No rating. Just a public service.