Sports this 'n' that

 This is how bad things have gotten for the Baltimore Ravens.

Starting quarterback Lamar Jackson went on injured reserve on Wednesday after suffering a thumb injury that requires surgery in Sunday's loss to Buffalo. Backup Tyler Huntley is out for the year with a toe injury.

So, on Wednesday, the Ravens traded for journeyman Jacoby Brissett, who lost his starting job in Arizona on Sunday. Not sure if Brissett will be in uniform for tonight's game vs. Jacksonville, but it's looking like the Ravens might not make the playoffs unless Jackson is able to return at the end of the regular season, though no one thinks that's possible.

Tonight's game streams on Amazon Prime beginning at 8:15 pm (ET), and will replay for the rest of us tomorrow on NFL Network.

While it's unlikely he'll win a Cy Young Award, the Mets' Nolan McLean won a Gold Glove for fielding excellence on the mound. Rookie outfielder Carson Benge is a finalist for NL Rookie of The Year, and that, of course, has Mets fans hoping he upsets Cincinnati's Sal Stewart for the honor when the awards are handed out as early as next week.

WWE gave viewers a reason not to watch NXT last night by telegraphing what would happen in the main event between NXT champ Grayson Waller and visiting challenger CM Punk. Kevin Owens, who's been feuding with Punk for a few weeks, was told to leave the Performance Center hours before the show. Savvy long time viewers could figure out the rest, and, sure enough, Owens showed up to cause a distraction to cost Punk the match. A blind man could've told you that would happen. Punk will face Owens on Smackdown tomorrow in a match taped on Monday due to the troupe leaving for Saudi Arabia.

Major League Baseball owners are now suggesting a salary cap won't be implemented until no earlier than 2028, but there's still talk of a lockout taking effect December 1. Can't have it both ways, guys.

This time, the wave was like a thunderstorm..........

 Four years ago, when the GOP reclaimed control of Congress, the "red wave" turned out to be little more than drizzle, as the party did just enough to gain control.

Tuesday, it went the other way, and, did it ever. MSN referred to it as a "blue tsunami". Oh, sure, Republicans won some regional races, like Byron Donalds succeeding Ron DeSantis as Florida Governor, and Sticker Mule founder Anthony Constantino inheriting Elise Stefanik's seat in the 21st Congressional District here in NY.

President Donald Trump kept telling supporters to "pretend I'm on the ballot". Unsurprisingly, around midnight Eastern time Wednesday morning, Trump backtracked, whining that because he wasn't on the ballot, the GOP got spanked. Some examples:

Here in NY, Governor Kathy Hochul routed Trump clone Bruce Blakeman by 20 points, according to media reports. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa upset Greg Abbott to become Governor, the first Latina to hold the seat. James Talarico, who gained national attention at the beginning of the year, defeated AG Ken'L Ration Paxton in the race for Senate. In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ascended to the Governor's mansion. Troy Jackson sent Susan Collins into likely retirement in a race for Senator in Maine. In New Hampshire, despite native son Paul "Triple H" Levesque being brought in by Turning Point USA to help encourage GOP voters, second generation politico John Sununu fell to Chris Pappas in the race for Senate in the Granite State.

In higher profile races that gained national attention, Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy to become Ohio Governor, and Sherrod Brown defeated Jon Husted for Senate. To be fair, Husted was done in by Trump's bizarre obsession with the candidate's buttocks. Abdul El-Sayed earned a Senate seat in Michigan, despite the rhetoric coming from the likes of Trump and Just Dumb Vance.

In South Carolina, Darline Graham, sister of the late Lindsey Graham, failed to secure a full term, losing to Annie Andrews. In North Carolina, Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley for Senate. In Kansas, Adam Hamilton took down Roger Marshall for Senate. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola told supporters the final results of her Senate race may not be final for a few weeks, anticipating continued challenges from the oldest sore loser in America and the Department of Injustice.

In the final analysis, the strategy to run ads for races in Ohio, Michigan, & Texas nationally during sports, like college & pro football, for example, backfired on the GOP. The heavy emphasis on lies & nonsensical rhetoric backfired. Republican deflection of blame for high prices to the Democrats backfired. Now, it's the Democrats who can quote the last universally popular Republican President, the late Ronald Reagan, and declare, "it's morning again in America". It sure is.

The one thing Republicans fear today is.........

 Losing.

The paranoia gripping the GOP heading into today's midterm elections prompted the Department of Injustice to file frivolous lawsuits in Alaska & California just days before the polls opened. A week ago, we told you how AG Todd "Bleached" Blanche and president Trump think Alaskan voters can't read, thinking those voters would be confused between Daniel S. Sullivan and Daniel J. Sullivan, who are running against Democrat Mary Peltola. The middle initials are the dead giveaway, you idiots.

Right before the polls opened today, a judge threw out the suit in Alaska, but, of course, the DOI is planning to appeal, which itself is a waste of time. Kentucky's James "Gomer" Comer weighed in, claiming Peltola would not be seated in January if she wins. Good luck making that happen, bub.

Also, the suit in California got tossed, where the GOP wanted a number of ballots set aside, falsely claiming that these were to be cast by "non-citizens". If you can't prove it, again, you're wasting everyone's time.

Yeah, I'd hide my face in shame if I were you, Dumb Donald.

All the GOP wants to do is sow doubt & distrust, as if they hadn't done that already, led by the oldest sore loser in America. They don't do the work necessary to make their cases, and expect their base to take their words at face value.

Speaking of which, here in NY, Republicans, from Bruce Blakeman all the way to old school veteran Jim Tedisco, are deflecting blame for high prices to the Democrats, and they, again, expect you to buy their lies. Tedisco, with nearly 50 years in the state Senate, is expected to be re-elected. Blakeman? Not so much. Most recent polling has Blakeman down by 2 touchdowns and 2 extra points. If lies are all the GOP has, they're not going to gain anything, aside from maybe self-made businessman and wanna-be rapper Anthony Constantino inheriting Elise Stefanik's seat, and that's not a gimme.

The morning headlines on Wednesday will tell the tale.

Spook Rock: Lady Samantha (1969)

 Elton John & Bernie Taupin wrote "Lady Samantha", and released it as a single in the UK in 1969. Unfortunately, it didn't fare too well on the charts.

Not too long after, Three Dog Night recorded their version for the album, "Suitable For Framing". No performance video of TDN's cover exists, and maybe someday, we'll pull a clip of Elton performing the song.

Anyway, here's an audio of "Lady Samantha", a la Three Dog Night.

 

The implication is that the title character is a vampire or succubus.

Happy Halloween.

Fantasy/Family Fridays: Lily takes up modeling (The Munsters, 1965)

 From season 1 of The Munsters:

When Herman (Fred Gwynne) turns down a night out with Lily (Yvonne DeCarlo), Lily starts looking for a job, and becomes a model. Chaos then ensues. Roger C. Carmel guest stars in "Lily Munster: Girl Model":

East Potomac Golf Links is closed because a certain fellow doesn't like being told no.......

 And that fellow, of course, is the most immature, spiteful, petty, dishonorable president of all time, Donald John Fauntleroy Trump, who ordered East Potomac closed Thursday because a judge told him he could not be allowed to cut down more trees and/or continue to make over the course as he sees fit.

A once proud golf course, ruined.

Now, as a disreputable golfer himself, Trump knows that trees are common hazards on any golf course. That's just the way it is. He wanted East Potomac made over to attract the PGA and LPGA, but taking the trees out was a big no-no, and he's throwing another tantrum because he was told this was wrong.

"WAAAAHHH!! I want to do what I want with the course! It's mine! WAAAHHHHH!"

No, it isn't. Last I checked, you don't own everything in Washington. You just think you do. You refuse to go through proper channels to get something like this approved. You think it's on your say-so, and that's that. You just don't care about the consequences.

And we won't even discuss, for now, the fact that your assistant, Natalie Harp, is living somewhere in the White House. That's for another time. So, go ahead, keep whining & crying. You've embarrassed us enough already.

Sports this 'n' that

 Most of you know that ESPN's Pardon The Interruption airs on same-day tape, so guest co-anchor Frank Isola had no idea SportsCenter was not going to follow the show on Wednesday.

Instead, they cut to Ernie Johnson, anchor-moderator for Inside The NBA, confirming what had been reported earlier in the day, that he would leave Inside after the season. Reports also have panelist and Capital One shill Charles Barkley following Johnson out the door come June. Inside The NBA is in its 2nd season on ESPN after moving over from TNT last year.

Johnson's announcement gives ESPN 8 months to find his successor, and, no, it won't be Screamin' A. Cosell himself, Stephen A. Smith, who's already polluting NFL Monday Night Countdown with his unwanted presence. ESPN let Karl Ravech walk after the Little League World Series, but he is an experienced studio host, has called college basketball among his many gigs, and would be a good fit. I think they still have his number on speed dial.

Maybe Johnson saw the writing on the wall when he cut a commercial prior to the start of the season where he was trying to recite the lyrics to a 30 year old Ja Rule rap track..........

Cheeseheads are planning on a parade in Milwaukee after the Brewers won their first World Series Wednesday, defeating Tampa Bay, 4-1, to take the Series, also 4-1. Catcher William Contreras was named Series MVP.

Photo courtesy Yahoo!.

Keep in mind that the voting for post-season awards ended right before the playoffs began, and if Brewers manager Pat Murphy repeats as Manager of The Year, a rare three-peat for that honor, there will be those unwashed types that will think winning the Series clinched it. We'll see within the next few days.

WNBA fans are up in arms over the fact that Game 6 of the finals between Atlanta and Golden State will be a matinee, setting up a split-admission doubleheader with a Hawks game being played later tonight. Chalk it up to poor planning, and it could've been worse for the league and USA Network, which is televising the game (12:30 pm), while it streams on Peacock.

Y'see, reports have come out that the game could've been pushed back to tomorrow, with a 7 pm tip, bumping WWE's Smackdown to approximately 9 pm. However, that plan went by the boards, and hoop junkies get the doubleheader today.

Speaking of WWE, next week's Crown Jewel PLE will still take place in Saudi Arabia, but not at the same venue as advertised. Unfortunately, TKO frontman Ari Emanuel is putting Saudi money ahead of the safety of talent and other personnel due to the unrest in Saudi Arabia. Some guys will never learn.

After all those commercials for Nationwide Insurance, and other sponsors, Peyton Manning is finally playing a character in a series of spots for Cintas. Problem is, "Carl" is easily mistaken for Manning, and that leads to a running gag.

Maybe he should've started playing characters right from the get-go with MasterCard, Nationwide, et al. Next thing ya know, someone in Hollywood might actually look to exhume something like Mayberry RFD with Manning as the lead...........

What Might've Been: Ready & Willing (1967)

 Not long after Dragnet had relaunched on NBC, Universal shopped a pilot for a spoof on the detective genre. Unfortunately, Ready & Willing found no takers.

Joe Flynn, less than a year removed from McHale's Navy, and Jack Weston (ex-The Hathaways) are the titular detectives. Our cast also includes Ned Glass, Kathleen Freeman, and, if you look quick, Susan Saint James, a year before The Name of The Game.

Flynn and Weston would land some guest roles here and there, and it'd be three years before Flynn landed another series, which would reunite him with Tim Conway.

Weasel of The Week: Section II volleyball committee

 It's happened again, pilgrims.

Yesterday, we posted the pairings for Section II women's volleyball over at Tri-City SportsBeat. The Class AA field has expanded to 8 this year, with Guilderland moving down from Class AAA, and Burnt Hills trading places with South Glens Falls, which moves to Class A. In all, the breakdown of league representation goes like this:

Foothills Council champion Queensbury is its league's only rep. Same for Colonial Council champion Troy. Troy has played the most matches, 19, while Burnt Hills, the top seed, has played the 2nd fewest at 15 (at least what has been reported).

You & I know what Section II's argument is going to be. Strength of schedule.

BOLLOCKS & BALDERDASH!!!!

Strength of schedule doesn't apply, especially when you're holding down two league champions. Queensbury is ranked 5th, and will play Ballston Spa. Troy is seeded 8th, and has to travel to Burnt Hills. This illustrates the lack of respect accorded the Colonial Council.

Toss out strength of schedule, and the corrected bracket should look like this:

1. Burnt Hills.

2. Queensbury.

3. Troy.

4. Bethlehem.

5. Columbia.

6. Ballston Spa.

7. Guilderland.

8. Niskayuna.

My point? Rightfully, all three league champions should be seeded as the top three, not spread out. Under this setting, Troy would host Ballston Spa, and Queensbury would host Guilderland.

For the 2nd straight year, the Section II volleyball committee gets a box of Weasel ears for screwing over the Foothills & Colonial Councils in favor of the Suburban Council. Trust me, this will happen every year until things change. And they have to.

Death has been busy......

 Over the course of the last week, a number of stars have passed away.

The most recent passing was actress Susan Saint James, 80, best known for McMillan & Wife in the 70's with Rock Hudson & Nancy Walker, and Kate & Allie in the 80's, co-starring with Jane Curtin. Saint James was married to NBC executive Dick Ebersol up to her passing.

Trekkers are in mourning after the passing of Walter Koenig, 90, announced on Monday. Koenig joined the cast of Star Trek in season 2, and while he wasn't part of the reunion for the animated version that ran from 1973-5, he did contribute a script for the series, "The Survivor". A year later, he wrote the Land of The Lost  episode, "The Stranger".

Koenig got back into acting with the Trek movie series, then returned to the small screen on Babylon 5. His character was named after noted author Alfred Bester.

A week ago, country singer John Anderson passed at 71. Anderson's peak years on the country chart came in the 80's, when he hit #1 with 1983's "Swingin'". In 1992, he released "Seminole Wind", filmed in Florida.

Fans of the Looney Tunes franchise are also mourning the passing of voice actor & artist Eric Bauza, 46, who had been the primary voice of Bugs Bunny and other animated icons in recent years. It's likely that Jeff Bergman, who had shared the role at least, will step back into voicing Bugs and Daffy Duck for future projects. Just sayin'.

Rest in peace.

Spook Rock: Marie Laveau (1974)

 Bobby Bare hit #1 on the country charts in the US & Canada with 1974's "Marie Laveau".

Bobby performs live on Pop! Goes The Country, with host Ralph Emery encouraging audience participation.....

Bare is still going strong at 91. Turns out his lone #1 was a cover, as Dr. Hook recorded "Laveau" 2 years earlier!

Dunce Cap Award: Todd Blanche

 Todd Blanche's 1st mistake this week was admitting that he doesn't work for the American people. Instead, he maintains he works for president Trump, for whom he's been a personal attorney in the past. 

Then, proving again that he is an imbecile unfit to be Attorney General, Blanche filed suit on behalf of the Injustice Department to block certification of a US Senate race in Alaska.

Why? Because there are two candidates with the same name, and Blanche & Trump both think the voters will be confused.

On the left is Dan S. Sullivan, the incumbent. On the right is Dan J. Sullivan, one of the challengers. Both are Republican.

What Blanche & Trump won't admit, of course, is that they think Alaskan voters can't read.

Blanche is whining that Dan J. Sullivan was added to the ballot to "siphon" votes away from Dan S. Sullivan. Of course, there's no way Blanche can prove any of that. Democrat Mary Peltola, the other challenger, is currently leading the polls in advance of the November 3 election.

The suit has no merit or standing. It's nothing more than political grandstanding & whining from Washington.

Blanche, this week's Dunce Cap winner, added more fuel by embarrassing himself on national television twice today, appearing on CNN's State of The Union and CBS' Face The Nation. Blanche insists Trump is not meddling by filing the suit. Yes, he is, jackass, and so are you.

I've seen how the GOP's bumbling has cost them City Hall here at home, twice, in 2011 & 2019. Come November 3, the two Sullivans will cancel each other out, and it'll be the fault of the national GOP. The lawsuit will get tossed out of court, and there's every reason to think Blanche could be sanctioned for such frivolous foolishness. It's what he deserves.

Creepy TV: The Devil Made Me Do It (The Snoop Sisters, 1974)

 We're a week away from Halloween, so let's warm up with The Snoop Sisters, as they infiltrate a Satanic cult in "The Devil Made Me Do It". Flip Wilson, for some reason, wasn't available, so producer Leonard Stern brought in Greg Morris (Mission: Impossible), plus George Maharis (ex-Route 66), Cyril Ritchard, and, in his acting debut, rock legend-to-be Alice Cooper.

Edit, 10/28/26: The video was deleted due to a copyright claim from NBC-Universal. In its place is a short excerpt:

2026 World Series preview

 There are nervous executives at Fox and Major League Baseball, worried about the ratings for this year's World Series even before Friday's first pitch.

Two "small market" teams, Tampa Bay and Milwaukee, two teams who have never won a World title before, will vie for the championship beginning Friday. For the Rays, it's their 3rd Series appearance in the last 13 years. For Milwaukee, it's even longer, 44 years, dating back to when the Brewers were in the American League, and took St. Louis, now a division rival, to 7 games before losing.

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy has won NL Manager of The Year in his first two seasons as Brewers skipper, and hoping to make it three. The success of the Brew Crew has been building right up to this point. During this series, they'll see a former teammate in Freddy Peralta, who landed in Tampa at the trading deadline. Peralta won ALCS MVP honors after stifling Cleveland in 2 games.

Milwaukee, though, has a Cy Young candidate in Jacob Misiorowski, their 2nd year ace, and NLCS MVP Jake Bauers. They have a mix of vets and young stars like Christian Yelich & Jackson Chourio. They came from behind in every NLCS game vs. the Dodgers to knock the defending champions out.

Tampa Bay needed 6 games to vanquish the Guardians, after sweeping the Yankees out. By Friday, both teams will be well rested, Milwaukee more so than Tampa. That will make all the difference in the world.

Pick: Milwaukee in 7.

Of course, I could be wrong.

There are lines you can't cross. In Ohio, those lines have been crossed

 The race to succeed outgoing Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has fallen into the toxic mud pit of dirty pool.

Failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, endorsed by DeWine, is facing a stiffer than expected challenge from former state medical director Dr. Amy Acton. Ramaswamy has also been endorsed by president Trump, and we all know a Trump endorsement doesn't guarantee success.

So the other day, someone affiliated with Ramaswamy's campaign posted a campaign ad on social media featuring Dr. Acton's estranged mother, who has not spoken to her daughter in nearly 50 years, but went in front of a camera, and claimed Dr. Acton, like the president, is a liar.

Ramaswamy's campaign claims the mom isn't being compensated. If you believe that, well.......!

Republicans, including Governor DeWine, and Democrats alike have blasted the ad, which will be set to air on television locally in Ohio as part of a $4 million campaign. Unfortunately, Ohio native and current vice president, Just Dumb Vance, did a rally the other day, where he rebuked voters for "whining" about the ad. Keep in mind that two years ago, Trump & Vance were running a misinformation campaign in the Buckeye State, falsely claiming Haitian emigres were eating their neighbors' pets. So far, Ramaswamy has taken responsibility for the ad, but won't hand up the staffer who set it up.

The next 12 days will tell us a lot about the reality of Ohio voters. The only reason this ad was even produced in the first place is because Ramaswamy is trailing in current polling, and that makes the GOP nervous. When they resort to stunts like this, their desperation is showing out.

And, on November 3, Vivek will fail again.

Wild West/Weird Wednesdays: Witches Trail (Dusty's Trail, 1974)

 Sherwood Schwartz was obviously obsessed with reviving his 1964-7 sitcom, Gilligan's Island, such that in 1973, he transplanted his concept to the Old West with the syndicated Dusty's Trail, a one year flop.

The only other link was series star Bob Denver, three years removed from The Good Guys, who had the title role as Dusty, every bit the bumbler that Gilligan was. 

In "Witches Trail", Dusty and wagon master Callahan (Forrest Tucker, ex-F-Troop) befriend a young woman on the road, but when things start going screwy, there are suspicions that the lass is a witch.

Country singer Mel Street performed the theme song.

Tucker, of course, would run into more supernatural doings on Ghost Busters during the 1975-6 season.

Sports this 'n' that

 To follow up on something we wrote about last week, wrestler-rapper Max Caster announced on social media he is stepping away from wrestling after the backlash surrounding a pre-match rap 9 days ago. We wish him all the best as he gets his life together.

The Mets gave up on Freddy Peralta at the trading deadline, and shipped him off to Tampa Bay for prospects.

Today, Peralta and the Rays are preparing for the World Series after eliminating Cleveland in 6 games with a 7-3 win Monday. Peralta was named ALCS MVP.

Check the highlights, and see if you agree.

On Friday, the Rays will play Milwaukee, for whom Peralta pitched last year. Hmmmmmmmm. That story writes itself, doesn't it? Of course.

Peralta. though, will be a free agent after the Series. I'd think the Rays have the inside track on retaining, don't you think?

The Los Angeles Rams were supposed to be the favorites to win the Super Bowl after acquiring Myles Garrett, and luring Aaron Donald out of retirement.

The reality? The Rams are chasing undefeated San Francisco, and will be without receiver Davante Adams for up to 10 weeks due to injury. Garrett's been hurt, too, which complicates things even more. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has to get along without quarterback Jalen Hurts for the rest of the regular season, at least, as he recovers from blood clots in his lungs. Yoiks. Washington may have lost receiver Terry McLaurin for the season after he suffered a knee injury Monday vs. San Francisco. As of press time, we don't know the extent of it, but we can guess, at least, that it might be a torn ACL. The last thing the Commanders needed.

For all the blathering about how bad the Dallas Cowboys have played, the root cause of their problems starts right at the top of the food chain with owner/GM Jerry Jones. Jones selfishly is making all the decisions as far as the roster is concerned, and he shouldn't be doing that. The Cowboys will be short on draft picks the next couple of years unless they can trade to get some of those picks back, and that's on Jones' misguided deals. A younger executive is needed to be the GM, but Jones, stubbornly, won't cede power. He thinks he's the 2nd coming of Al Davis, all of a sudden. Until he finally gets a clue, Jones will end up keeping the Cowboys out of the playoffs.

When Icons Meet: Elvira on The Fall Guy (1984)

 From season 4 of The Fall Guy:

Not only does Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) turn up, but so does the Carradine family and Orson Bean (ex-To Tell The Truth), playing an oblivious director on a movie that Elvira and Colt Seavers (Lee Majors) are working on.

And since when does Elvira have powers?

The last time the Carradines had acted together had been about a decade earlier on David's series, Kung Fu.

What Might've Been: Serpico (1976)

 "Those who fail to remember history are condemned to repeat it."---George Santayana.

Hollywood wanted to take advantage of a period in NYPD history in the 70's. The feature film, "The Super Cops", was one thing. Fictionalizing the exploits of real life cops was another.

After ABC & Universal had flopped with Toma, NBC & Paramount decided they wanted a piece of the NYPD action. After Paramount had scored with a biography of Frank Serpico, with Al Pacino in the title role, the studio sold NBC a series, with David Birney (ex-Bridget Loves Bernie) as Serpico.

Unfortunately, viewers weren't interested. Serpico was at the bottom of a powerful Friday lineup, but lost viewers from The Rockford Files. Quincy was spun from the Sunday Mystery Movie wheel in January to take over the slot.

The series hasn't been seen since a late 90's run on TV Land. Following is the episode, "Prime Evil":

Insight Sundays: Dangerous Airs of Amy Clark (1970)

 In 1970, the year 1986 was still far into the future. In "Dangerous Airs of Amy Clark", it's speculated that Earth will be overcome with pollution by 1986. It didn't really happen, of course.

Our cast includes Jane Wyatt (ex-Father Knows Best), Ivor Francis (who would recur on Room 222), William Windom (fresh from My World...And Welcome To It), Hayden Rorke (fresh from I Dream of Jeannie), Chris Connolly (ex-Peyton Place), Heather Young (fresh from Land Of The Giants), and Nicholas Georgiade and Paul Picerni (ex-The Untouchables).