Hey:
So for the first time in about 12 years or so, I went to the St. Sebastian's (week before the) Super Bowl dance. What I always loved about this night was that it makes Woodside feel like a small town, and I mean that in a good way. People who moved away would come back for this night and party hearty then hit one of the many bars on Roosevelt Avenue. Saturday night, I was one of those people.
I really just wanted to be there with my sisters and Steve, and I got a bonus because my cousin Deirdre and her husband Chris came out as well. For old times sake, I even took a cab from Roosevelt home to see Mom and Dad, then walked over the the Parish Center. Just to recapture the glory.
I like where I live now, but I do miss Woodside. It's still an awesome place. Saturday night was a reminder of that.
Onto the news...
OK, so let's get the serious stuff out of the way first.
PROTESTS: Covington Catholic Controversy
Wasn't going to touch this one because it's one of those instances in America where you are never really going to get to the bottom of it. I wasn't there, if you're reading this, you probably weren't there either. We are all going by a series of videos that if you put them all together, were longer than the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
And you saw what you wanted to see.
The liberals among you saw a kid, wearing a red MAGA hat in Washington DC to for the Right to Life march. That alone gave him two strikes against him before a pitch was even thrown. You saw that smirk on his face and wanted to wipe it off because he was using it to try to intimidate a Native American.
The right wingers saw a young man not sure what to make of an older man beating a drum and chanting just inches away from the kids face. They say the older man approached the kid, not the other way around.
The truth is most likely somewhere in between.
But here are my thoughts....
1) I heard some people say that the red MAGA hats are equivalent to what white sheets and pillowcases were back in the 60's. I'm sorry folks, I'm not quite there yet. But I can tell you that I wouldn't let my kid wear one of those. Shoot, in my Catholic high school, we weren't allowed to wear any hats. I had a Rangers hat that I used to wear that I took off before I even got to the block where my school was on. But I digress. My point is, while I don't believe that everyone who dons a MAGA hat is a racist, I do admit I'd be uncomfortable in the presence of someone wearing one.
2) Every Saturday as I walk from Penn Station up to the Post, there are a group of fellas on the corner of 34th and 7th who sound an awful lot like the Black Israelites that were down in DC. I don't usually stick around to hear what they are saying, but you can't miss some of the signs they are holding up. I can honestly tell you, they have never tried to block my path or accost me in any way, and I don't stop to chat with them.
It sounds like the group that went to DC were calling people out. Regardless, if the Covington Catholic school kids felt they were being harassed, it was up to the teachers and chaperones to figure out how to get the kids away from them. If I was responsible for a group of young men like that, (which as the father of a pre teen I'm sure I will be in that position some day) I'd find another place to gather, away from where a confrontation could take place. Maybe it's my New York City sensibility.
3) and again, we will probably never know whether Nathan Phillips, the Native American protester either confronted or was confronted by the kids from Covington Catholic. To me, the left is going to blame the kids and the right is going to blame Mr. Phillips and/or the Black Isrealites and all of us have something else to be pissed off about, something we all need like we need a hole in our heads.
But there might be some good to come out of this after all... On Tuesday a group of Native Americans were protesting outside the Basilica that housed the diocese of Covington, Kentucky. A man wearing a MAGA hat came up to one of the protestors and said "I'd really like to hear what you have to say. Do you want to get coffee or maybe something to eat and we can talk?" Don Wegman was the man in the hat. Guy Jones is the Native American protester he spoke to. They were supposed to have lunch this Friday.
Let's hope more people follow their lead.
THE LEGAL SYSTEM:
Denis Leary upon learning that parents of heavy metal fans who committed suicide after buying their records were suing said bands, wondered aloud if he could sue Dan Fogelberg for turning him into a (wimp) in the 70's. Leary reasoned that Fogelberg and James Taylor's music is what caused his lack of success with the ladies in his teens and twenties.
I thought about that as I read about the two fans in New Orleans that are suing the NFL because of that awful non-call in the Saints-Rams game last Sunday.
According to the New Orleans Advocate and Yahoo Sports...Saints season ticket holders Tommy Badeaux and Candis Lambert hired a local personal injury lawyer to file a lawsuit against the NFL and Goodell on their behalf, and on behalf of the entire “Who Dat Nation.” The suit claims that Saints fans suffered incredible damages from the missed call, including mental anguish, emotional trauma, loss of enjoyment of life, and more — including a loss of faith in the NFL. Here’s a snippet of the damages section of the suit, via the Advocate:
“As a direct result of the said incident, plaintiffs herein have been left bereft and with no faith in the National Football league for fairness despite the league’s own rules to correct such errors, along with emotional anguish, monetary loss for ticket holders, who purchases tickets with the presumption of integrity and fairness.”
Man, think of the possibilities THIS opens up.
Do I get to sue Gary Bettman for the refs not calling a penalty on Dwight King as he lay atop Henrik Lundqvist in Game 2 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals? Kind of hard to make a save when someone is literally laying on top of you as the puck goes in the net.
Can I sue Chubb Fenney, the president of the National League in 1986, for not even looking at the baseballs Mike Scott was scuffing with sandpaper? Making his split fingered fastball unhittable?
Can I sue Pete Carroll for not handing the ball off to Marshawn Lynch at the end of Super Bowl XLIX? I can actually put monetary value on that one, $350.00 that I didn't win in the pool I was in. (Plus legal fees and pain and suffering)
Or here's a real good one.... How about we sue Denis Potvin for breaking Ulf Nillson's ankle in 1979, costing my Rangers their second best scorer and a shot at beating the Canadiens in the 79 Finals. That tacked on 15 more years to an already 39 year Stanley Cup drought. Of course Potvin can turn right around and countersue us for yelling "Potvin Sucks" for the past 40 years.
I think this is a can of worms better left unopened.
BASEBALL- Enter (Cooperstown) Sandman
It was July 10, 1999. A Saturday afternoon at Shea Stadium.
I went to the Met-Yankee game with Razor Ray McGarvey, his cousin in law Matt, and several of Ray's frat bothers from Cooper Union.
It was a wild game. 6 Yankees went yard that day, and being that we were in the nosebleed seats down the right field line, we had a pretty good view of all of them.
The Mets were down 8-7 going into the bottom of the ninth and facing a man on his way to being the best closer of all time.
Mariano Rivera.
Mariano got the first out, then walked Rickey Henderson, gave up a double to Edgardo Alfonzo, putting runners on second and third. He got John Olerud to ground out to Tino Martinez leaving Rickey and Fonzie on base with two out. He intentionally walked Mike Piazza to load the bases, then gave up a base hit to pinch hitter Matt Franco. The Mets won the game 9-8.
Why bring this game up? To piss of Yankee fans?
Nope.
Because it would be 15 long years before the Mets ever laid another glove on Mariano Rivera.
15 years.
My point is I know first hand how great Mariano Rivera was. He absolutely is a first ballot Hall of Famer, and only a baseball moron wouldn't include him on their ballot.
And yet.
The first player in the history of the sport to be unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame, is a closer?
I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Cy Young, Sandy Koufax. What idiot decided not to cast a ballot for these guys?
Should Mariano be punished because some idiot in 1936 didn't vote for Babe Ruth? Probably not.
But I don't know. Maybe because I'm not a fan of the idea of the one inning closer. It just kind of bugs me.
Now for years, Tom Seaver had the highest percentage of votes for anyone voted into the Hall. As a Met fan I thought that was cool. I also thought it was a tad absurd. Great as Seaver was (and he might have won 50 more games over his career had he pitched on a team that scored runs), the question was, did he deserve to get more Hall of Fame votes than any of the above mentioned players?
The most convincing argument I have heard as to why Mariano should have been the first to be unanimously elected was because he was the best ever at his position. Fair enough. But that position was one that played for one inning per game.
Let me be clear on this, if I were a baseball writer with a Hall of Fame ballot, Mariano Rivera would have been at the top of mine. No question. I would vote for deserving players, ones who didn't cheat. I don't begrudge Mariano Rivera being unanimously elected to Cooperstown.
I just wish someone else had been elected unanimously before him.
Next week, Week Mail will come out around halftime of the Super Bowl. Since I won't be watching the game, this might not be an exact science. Let's figure on around 8:30 EST or so.
Have a Great Week
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