Weekly Mail April 17, 2016

    So we go to the polls in NY on Tuesday in what I keep hearing is the first NY Primary that means anything in years. It's true that this is the first one with any real buzz, probably since Bill Clinton vs. Jerry Brown in 1992. However NY participated in Super Tuesday in 2000, 2004 and 2008, so the nominees were not yet decided in those years. The reality is, this is the first time NY has had the stage to itself and the nominations not been sewn up since 1992. Any way you slice it, it's an exciting time.
       I realize many people think that between the ugliness of Trump vs. Cruz vs. Kasich, and the yelling and screaming between Hillary and Bernie, much of the excitement is tempered. But I say the fact that people are so engaged one way or another is a good thing. No, I don't think riots and fighting between protesters and supporters is a good thing, but the turnout has been enormous, and I do believe the more of us involved in the process, the better.
       Usually the way it works here at Weekly Mail is that rather than out and out endorsing a candidate, I give you a tons of reasons why not to vote for the other person running. In other words I do non-endorsements. Think I'm going to change that up a bit for this cycle.
        Just a reminder, I'm a registered Republican, I had been an independent, but switched after I got married and moved to Manhattan, mainly in anticipation of supporting John McCain. Anyone who read last weeks blog post knows that when I went to cast my vote for McCain in 2008, I was put into a Democrat voting booth and had neither the time or the inclination to explain to the morons at the polling site that I was in the wrong booth. I simply cast my vote for hope and change, and got the hell out of there.
        I should have better luck on Tuesday, and assuming I get the correct ballot, I'll be casting my vote for John Kasich of Ohio. But first my non endorsements...

Ted Cruz-Texas- Where to start with Lying Ted.... Well how about here, of all the candidates running in BOTH parties, he's the one who cares about NY the least. In fact, he's one of those people that can't stand NY. Ted Cruz, is the John Rocker of politics.
       No, he didn't come out and bash us 7 train riders, (when Rocker spouted his infamous spew, I was a daily 7 train rider) but he did vote down the Zadroga Act for 9/11 first responders, voted against funding for Super Storm Sandy, and in Rocker like fashion, deplored NY values. Pandering to rednecks to win a national election is just cheap. Cruz probably figured he wouldn't be in a position where he would need NY support to win the nomination. To be honest? Neither did I.
        Cruz would be the first Generation X President, which is something I should embrace. But in reality, that's the only thing he's got going for him. I also don't like the fact that he was born in Canada, (though I believe if he hasn't been disqualified for that already, he shouldn't be disqualified for that now.) I just find the man very shady. He's got a thing against NY, I've got a thing against politicians from Texas. The last time we had one as President, the economy ended up in the toilet, we were put into a war with not enough of a plan to secure the peace, and the price of gas shot up as did unemployment. People are always saying I defended the man too much. Maybe I did. People say I don't give his successor enough credit, maybe I don't. I have my reasons (and rebuttals) for both statements, but I'll say this here though. We don't need a return to that time in the country.
       And I think that's where we'd be headed in a Ted Cruz presidency. A bigger wage gap than we have now, tax breaks for big oil, and screwing over the middle class at every opportunity. Of the 5 people still running, Cruz is the last one I want to see marching down Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20.
       

Donald Trump-NY- Now in fairness to Rocker, er I mean Cruz, part of the reason he's so anti-NY is that the man he is chasing for the nomination, is a New Yorker. Trump, he of the three marriages and two divorces, is the type of New Yorker Cruz wants to bash.
    When I told Weekly Mail co-editor Karl (The Ace) Ludwig that I would consider voting for Trump, he literally shuttered. I had to quickly explain that Trump wasn't my first choice, he just wasn't my last choice.
      And I have to be honest, the more folks tell me I can't vote for Trump, the more inclined I am to do just that. The Daily News, whose Trump bashing has gone from the ridiculous to the sublime, has become a joke. A few weeks ago, they breathlessly reported that Chris Brown was bashing Trump. Yes, the same Chris Brown who used Rihanna as a punching bag, was not going to support Trump, no doubt because of his mistreatment of women.
         But I have to put that aside and focus on what's important, and to me, that is the fact that I haven't heard enough from Trump to make me think he can make a difference here. He is constantly talking about the polls and how he is winning, to the point where I wonder if he's going to realize that on January 20th, he is actually going to have to run the country. Part of me thinks if he wins, he's going to spend the following two months partying in Boca Raton as if he just led the Mets to the World Series title.
          The sad thing is, I think he's got the smarts and the work ethic to do a good job. I don't buy the notion that he has all his money because of his father. I think he has built some successful companies, and done so really positive things. Too often during this cycle though, he has allowed his rhetoric to overshadow his accomplishments. There is a pro-trump video on Facebook that I saw, where a number of years ago on a talk show, someone asked him "where does an average person like me start if they want to become successful."  He answered by saying the first thing you have to do is not refer to yourself as average. If he could get THAT message out, instead of bashing his opponents, and mocking John McCain's military service, he could win this going away.
          But instead, he's become almost a sideshow. But a sideshow that is quite close to being the Republican nominee for President. Maybe he wins NY going away, and tells the world about it. I won't be casting the vote to make that happen.

John Kasich-Ohio. Is he a perfect candidate? No. Will liberals embrace him? No, they're going to vote for Hillary or Bernie. I don't know if he'll unite the country, I doubt it.
        But I still think Kasich is a good man. I still think he has more of a heart than either Cruz or Trump, I think he cares about the country and it's well being. I think his immigration plan is fair, and his message is positive (for the most part). Maybe I'm biased because he worked for Fox News around the time I was working at the Post more often.
        Mostly, I think I like him because he didn't rag on anyone's wife, comment on anyone's appearance, speculate over the size of one's unmentionables, and generally didn't make an a$$ out of himself.  Is that enough to vote him into the Oval Office,
This year it is.

I can't cast a vote in the Democratic Primary (unless they screw it up like they did on the UES in 2008) but if I could, I would vote for Bernie Sanders. I don't know what the hell he would do if we were ever attacked again, People say Trump has no foreign policy, but Trump has something resembling a foreign policy, Bernie has nothing. And I can't imagine too many of his economic and social plans coming to fruition.
But I wouldn't mind seeing him try. And his tries will leave the country better off than perhaps any of the other candidates, especially his opponent in the primary. That he is still in this fight this late in the game is both a testament to his message and that of Hillary Clinton. I'll leave that right there.

SPORTS NHL Playoffs:

I was hoping for the Rangers to get out of Pittsburgh with a split, and after their hard fought 4-2 victory Saturday, they got it. Can they pull off a series win? Well, they're capable as evidenced by the win, but this isn't last year's Penguins, or last year's Rangers. To me, the key to this series is making sure coach Alain Vigneault plays Dylan McIllrath and Brady Skjei on defense. McIllrath is aggressive and can make life difficult for the Pens scorers. Skjei is young with excellent skating ability and an improving puck handling. I love Dan Girardi, but he's an old 31, and Dan Boyle is just old. Once Ryan McDonagh comes back, I'd sit Boyle and Girardi and play the youngsters. I just think that would be the best way to put away the Penguins.

The Islanders also split their first two games against the Florida Panthers. I think this might be the year they break their long playoff series drought. They have the scoring and the grit, question is do they have the defense and the goaltending?

NEWS ITEM: Mike Piazza Jersey Controversy

On September 21st 2001, my father had decided that we should all go to the Met game that night. It was going to be the first live sporting event in New York City after the September 11th attacks.

I didn't think it was a great idea to be honest with you. They were telling us that security was going to be so much extra tight that night. They were saying that it was going to take close to an hour from the time you got to the stadium until you got to your seat. I also figured the game might be sold out.

It ends up that it wasn't sold out. But I can tell you that I very rarely heard the stadium rock as loud as it locked at night. I can also tell you that of all the decisions I've made in my life this will rank up there with one of the best. As the years have gone on the significance of that game has only increased.

And when Mike Piazza hit his home run off of Braves pitcher Steve Karsay, it would go down as one of the most significant home runs in Mets history if not New York baseball history. A great moment for our city a great moment for our nation.

The jersey that Piazza wore that night was apparently sold by the Met organization and put up for auction. Fred and Jeff Wilpon will apparently do anything for money, and have absolutely no shame.

Thankfully some well-to-do at fans for the jersey at the auction and are planning to donate it to the 911 Memorial Museum, and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York. So this story which could have gone really bad will apparently have a happy ending.

Regardless of who you are supporting please make sure you get out and vote on Tuesday.

Have a great week.