Weekly Mail September 27, 2015

NEWS: POPE FRANCIS IN NY

           IT never ceases to amaze me. Whenever discussion of the Catholic Church come up, it usually centers around everything that's wrong with it. Be it pedophile priests, lack of female leadership, gay rights, abortion, whatever. I feel like all we hear about is that which divides the church. Also, you hear about how church attendance is at an all time low, how people have lost their faith. Sometime it seems like the church sees America as a bunch of faithless heathens, and America sees the Catholic church as a repressive backwards thinking organization. 

 And then the Pope comes to town...

          On October 3, 1979, my mom took me and my sister over to 65th Place and Laurel Hill Boulevard to watch as Pope John Paul II rode past us waving from the Popemobile on his way to Yankee Stadium to say Mass. It was a chilly and very rainy morning, and we stood there getting soaked and wet. But I saw him, clear as day. There were hundreds of us standing there (I'm sure many of my fellow St. Mary's folks were there, as we had gotten the day off for this event, the only other kid I knew at that spot was Chris Falcone) 

           When John Paul II died, I was working at the Post and helping put together the special section they were doing in memory. I got to read the old stories from 1979, and how excited New York City was to have the Pope visiting us. I could tell from the way the old stories were written, and from my own memories of how electric it was. 

             Fast forward 36 years later, and the stories in the papers could almost be the same. Throngs of cheering New Yorkers lining the streets. People of all ages, especially kids who you might think would have better things to do on a Friday night than to be waiting to cheer a 78 year old priest. But there they were. People of all faiths. (I thought about my late grandmother, not my Catholic grandmother, my Protestant grandmother, who would watch every second of Pope coverage whenever he came here) The excitement, the joy in people's faces. It was really something to behold. 

             And it happens every time. Even when Pope Benedict XVI came here in 2008, he still got the crowds going, though he didn't have the warmth and charisma of his predecessor or his successor. 

                The circumstances under which Pope Francis ascended to his title are murky at best. (Pope Benedict "retired", which is unheard of) But Francis' message of mercy and forgiveness was a much needed salve for Catholics. I've heard a variation of "I don't really follow the church anymore, but I really like this Pope." more times than I can ever remember. If the college of Cardinals were looking for someone to be a recruiter, they made an inspired choice. 

             And yes, when he heads back to Rome on Sunday, the debates will come back and rage on. Already some conservatives are bitching about his calls for environmental protection and liberals are criticizing his stances on abortion and homosexuality. But for the week he was here, all that seemed to go out the window. What we saw Thursday and Friday was a city united in graciousness. 

That's something we should cherish. We don't get that enough around here. Not nearly enough. 

SPORTS: THE METS ARE THE NL EAST CHAMPS FOR 2015!!!

          Of all the major sports, I still feel winning the division in baseball is the toughest and most gratifying, even if it has been watered down somewhat by the wild card. Last season, I watched my Rangers win not only their division, not only their conference, but the overall best record ion the league and it didn't really mean as much as what the Mets accomplished on Saturday. 

 

            Part of it is the fact that, lets face it, very few of us thought the Mets would win the division. We went into the season with no SS, very little pop in the outfield and a lousy bullpen. As late as June 24, they were under .500. On July 5th, they were 4.5 games behind a Nationals team that had Max Scherzer as its ace and probable MVP Bryce Harper in its lineup. They took over first place on August 3rd and never looked back. Though they made it interesting of late. 

            Obviously, trading for Yoenis Cespedes, Tyler Clippard, Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe was a huge help. By putting those guys in the lineup, guys like Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy had some protection. The return of David Wright and Travis D'Arnaud gave them some further juice. And of course the lights out pitching of Jacob DeGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergard and even, bless his heart Bartolo Colon, made the Mets a worthy playoff team. 

        So I'm going to say something now that I may live to regret and/or not live up to, but I'll say it anyway. Anything that happens from here on in is gravy. I'd love to go all the way and I know they have the stuff to do it. But I'm already proud of what these guys did. The Dodgers have two all world pitchers and the Cardinals, Cubs and Pirates have had incredible seasons. A Facebook meme summed it up pretty good...It said I've been through the Beltran strikeout, two collapses, Jerry Manuel, Jason Bay and a Ponzi scheme. I'm going to enjoy this.

Amen. 

POLITICS: BOEHNER BOWS OUT

           Speaker of the House John Boehner announced he was resigning from Congress altogether effective October 30th. And even though he was portrayed as an orange skinned, chain smoking crybaby, I'm kind of sorry to see him go. 

             I could be totally wrong about this, but I always got the feeling that Boehner wanted to make deals with President Obama, that he was willing to compromise to get deals done, to keep the government running, even if it meant going against something he believed in. 

             But Boehner just didn't have the stones to stand up to the far right wing of his party. Guys like Mitch McConnell, who said that his only goal was to make sure Obama didn't get re-elected. (How'd that work out?) Or Eric Cantor, an obnoxious POS who was Senate Majority Leader prior to McConnell. (he was voted out of the Senate). Those guys weren't going to work with Obama on anything. 

              Whether or not you agree with Obama's policies, to me your obligation as a Senator ir congressperson is to make the best deals for the American people. There's give and take. Sure you don't want to hand him a blank check, but to threaten a government shutdown over small matters is just small minded. I'm thinking Boehner is bailing out because he's sick of having to try to convince these idiots to do the right thing. And that's a shame. 

 

                 Right now my tentative plan is to send out a special blog post next week. I'll keep you posted. Also, thank you for all your feedback. I really do appreciate it. 

Have a Great Week

Weekly Mail September 20, 2015

       Saturday morning was Timmy's first soccer game of the season. Back in the days when I was whiling away the hours at Donovan's or Shelley's or the Irish Circle, even in those rare moments in which I thought there was a remote chance that I may one day become a father, I never thought I'd be a Long Island Soccer dad.I mean, growing up in Woodside, playing CYO ball, it was strictly baseball and basketball. Soccer in Woodside, was unheard of.

        But the organization that runs the soccer program in Oceanside, the Oceanside United Soccer Club, (OUSC) is a brilliantly run program serving hundreds of boys and girls throughout our town. Whether you have the second coming of Pele or a kid who just likes to run around, it's got something for everyone.

        Last year, Tim and I showed up for the first night of practice, and the coach and the assistant coach were handing out the uniforms. The assistant coach was the dad of one of Timmy's classmates, and he told the head coach that I'd be a good candidate to help out when the assistant couldn't make it. I disagreed, being that I knew not a thing about soccer, but said I would gladly help out. As it ended up, the assistant had to quit because of work, and I ended up getting promoted, even though once again, I know nothing about soccer.

         There's no score keeping and no standings because it is intramurals. (The kids and the parents know the score) Timmy is actually a pretty good player. He runs like the wind and he's aggressive. In Saturday's game, he started in goal and made 4 saves without allowing a goal. (Not that I was keeping any stats.) The biggest challenge is getting them to all spread the field, they all go towards the ball, making it tough to push the ball ahead. Still, it's a ton of fun, and you are bound to run into someone you know. Just the social aspect of it, makes it worth it.

          A soccer dad? Never in a million years. A soccer coach? I'd have laughed you off the bar stool if you laid that one one me those many years ago. As John Lennon once wrote. "Life is what happens to you  while your busy making other plans." Ain't that the truth.



SPORTS: Unhappy Harvey Day;

        I'm a couple of weeks late on this one, but just thought I would weigh in on the Matt Harvey innings fiasco. To me there are two factors at work here. 1) It's not so much that Harvey is looking to limit his innings, it's the fact that all the while he was rehabbing last year, all he did was say he was going to come back early and pitch, defy all expectations and medical advice. Of course he didn't, but he spent so much time and energy bellyaching about it, that now when he is pitching, and his arm is healthy, he comes off like a spoiled kid just doing the apposite of what his parents tell him.
The other thing that I think got fans all peeved was that he said "Scott has my back." referring to his scumbag agent, Scott Boras. Boras, one of the most reprehensible people in sports, doesn't have anybody's back but his own. Met fans have hated Boras since he steered A-Rod away from the Mets in 2000. Harvey, of course, can erase all this animosity, by shutting up, pitching well, and keeping a leash on his agent.


On another sports note: One week after I wrote about how down I was on the NFL, I went 15-1 on my football picks. 15-1! 30 years of picking games, I've never had a week like that. Figures right?


POLITICS: Jeb defends his brother, and gets clobbered for it.

          Last week during the CNN Republican Debate,  Jeb Bush took much heat from liberals when he said that his brother, President George W. Bush. "kept us safe." Bush haters everywhere lined up to remind the world, that it was Jeb's big brother who was in charge on 9/11 when the attacks happened. So really, he didn't keep us safe.
Right.
      Because we all know that Osama Bin Laden and crew started planning 9/11 on 1/20/2001, the day Bush took office. They would have started planning for it sooner, but they were waiting to see how things shook out in Florida, back in November of 2000. The attack on the USS Cole, the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, and the first attack on the WTC, all took place while Bill Clinton was President. But no, 9/11 was all on Bush.
       I'm not absolving Bush of all blame for what happened that awful day, but he alone wasn't asleep at the switch. Face it, very few of us, if any, thought something like that could possibly happen. And since 9/11, we have been kept safe. And yes, yes, YES, I give President Obama all the props in the world for what he has done to keep us safe. His administration's record on knocking out al-Qaeda, especially the takeout of Bin-Laden, is exemplary. Whatever my differences with the man, I'll always tip my hat to him on that. (Though I have some serious issues with this Iran Nuclear deal, but that's for another day.)
         I'm loathe to revisit the whole mess with President Bush, especially on Facebook. I know most of you think his administration was a disaster, and it's hard to argue otherwise. Between Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the economic fiasco in 2008, his record is full of failures. Maybe Jeb Bush shouldn't have said that he kept us safe. I just don't think hanging the entirety of 9/11 on him is right.

Hope you guys are enjoying these. Please feel free to respond on Facebook, or at WildWill45@aol.com.

In a couple of weeks, I'm going to publish a special series of stories. Will let you know when they are ready to roll.

Have a Great Week



     

Weekly Mail Re-Launch September 12, 2015

Howdy Folks:

So look, no promises, but I'm going to make an attempt to write again. Lord knows there is no shortage of material, what with the 2016 Presidential Election already heating up, (albeit over a year before the actual election) other various news items and of course the wacky world of sports.

POLTICS: The people vs. Donald Trump

         There are a lot of things that I like about Donald Trump and his run for the Republican Nomination. He's self made, so he's not beholden to special interests to raise money, He's also not beholden to the party line, as his plan to raise taxes on the wealthy have his fellow Repulicans breaking out in hives, and although I realize he has had his share of business failures, he's also had some very huge successes.

        The main problem I have with Trump is that for all the success he has had, for all the good fortune and blessings in his lafe, he is incredibly thin skinned. I'll get to the Fox News debate in a minute, but look at some of the people he has feuded with over the years, Rosie O'Donnell?  I mean, most people find Rosie O Donnell annoying, but the spat he got into with her was

embarrassing. 

        

         Another time I was watching an ESPN 30 for 30 about the USFL, and when someone suggested to Trump that Charlie Steiner took a shot at Trump, Trump was all set to go bananas on Steiner. I mean, who the hell would get worked up over something Steiner has to say? Only someone who can't take a punch. And if Charlie Steiner and Rosie O'Donnell can get under Trump's skin, how can he handle the likes of Vladimir Putin? And if he thinks Megyn Kelly was unfair, what's going to happen when he gets grilled by the folks at CNN (which the joke goes stands for Clinton News Network) or George Stephanopolis (former Clinton administration employee-now working for ABC News)? 

           The other thing that drives me nuts about Trump is that many of the good points he makes gets lost in the blathering rhetoric that he spouts out. His spat with John McCain is a perfect example.

As big of a John McCain fan as I was, he has lost a lot of luster in my eyes since his loss in 2008. I don't know if he is sore because he lost or what, but he has become so partisan and so anti-Obama, that most of the reasons I thought he was going to make a great President have gone by the wayside. Where once he was an energetic deal maker, not afraid to reach across the aisle to get a deal done, now he's a crotchety old man similar to Bob Dole. I never thought I'd say this, but it maybe time for the old maverick to pack it in. 

          Having said that, there is still the one thing about McCain that I will always respect and admire, the one thing that NOBODY can take away from him. He was a war hero plain and simple. Held as a POW at the Hanoi Hilton (and other prisons) for nearly 7 years, he rejected several opportunities to be released as per military protocol, and was severely beaten and tortured for that reason. For Donald Trump, who decided not to bother with Vietnam, to knock McCain for what he went through while a POW is unconscionable. 

        What brought on Trump's attack on McCain was actually McCain's shameful record on veteran's benefits. Trump pointed out that time and time again, McCain has voted to cut benefits for military veterans. How a man who went through what he did and can still consider veterans benefits pork barrel just blows my mind. 

            It's the same thing with the immigration issue. Anyone with half a brain knows we need to keep our borders secure, and that we need to have documentation for anyone who enters the country. But when Trump goes on to blast McCain for his service and imply that every Mexican who crosses the Rio Grande is a serial killer, how are you supposed to take him seriously? It's the stupid stuff he says that garners the headlines, not the good points he makes underneath. 

 

          The other issue is, how serious is he about running? Is he going to be another Ross Perot, staying in it till it looks like he might win,and then dropping out? Or is he in for the long haul? If the answer is the latter, he's going to have to toughen up and batten down. Otherwise, he should stop wasting everybody's time.  

SPORTS: Are you ready for some football? Because I'm NOT!

             The 2014 football season should go down in infamy as one of the worst seasons. It started with the video of Ray Rice clobbering his fiancee on an Atlantic City elevator, continued with Adrian Peterson beating the crap out of his son, and ended with the Patriots winning the Super Bowl after being accused of tampering with the footballs. That on top of all the usual DWI's, drug suspensions, and the fact that dog killer Michael Vick could get a job, and Jesus lover Tim Tebow couldn't, and one has to wonder why should we bother with this sport?

            In an article he wrote for the Post, Mike Vaccaro wrote of America's addiction to the NFL, 

( http://nypost.com/2015/01/30/the-nfls-not-so-secret-weapon-that-will-never-let-it-die/)

             He's right. Even in a spring where the Rangers and Islanders both made the playoffs, in a summer where both the Mets and the Yankees are at the top of their divisions, it still seems like it's all football all the time. Am I just as guilty? Am I going to watch? I can tell you this, I'm not going to watch as much, even if my Jets defy expectations and actually have a decent year, I'm not going to be as into it.  Last season left a real bad taste. And I have better things to do, than waste my time watching a sport that rewards its lowest common denominator. 


So let me know what y'all are thinking. Thanks for reading, and have a great week.