Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!
So we decided not to march in the big parade this year, but I did manage to catch about 15 minutes of it before heading to the Post. It was another glorious afternoon to celebrate our high holy day.
As I said last year though, once again I had to put up with this kind of crap..
Special Message
Attention Customers: In an effort to maintain orderly travel, no alcoholic beverages will be allowed on LIRR trains, platforms or at stations on March 16 & 17. MTA Police will enforce this restriction.
I don't know of any other holidays (maybe New Year's Eve) where they feel the need to make that announcement. Sounds an awful lot like profiling to me.
Despite this, it's always a fun time.
All right, let's get to it....
EDUCATION: The high cost of college.
The Justice department announced on Tuesday that they had uncovered a large scale bribery scheme designed to get rich but mediocre students into the country's top universities.
Although 50 people were charged, the overwhelming majority of the attention was focused on two television B-listers. Former Desperate Housewife Felicity Huffman, and Aunt Becky from Full House herself, Lori Loughlin.
Loughlin's case piqued particular interest, because one of the two daughters of hers that she tried to help, is a big shot on social media (an "influencer"-whatever the hell that means) who all but blabbed on line that she didn't belong in college.
Olivia Jade Giannulli is the younger daughter of Loughlin and her husband Mossimino Giannulli. The couple apparently paid some lowlife named William "Rick" Singer to help create a false profile for Olivia Jade, including doctoring photos in order to get her a crew scholarship to USC.
At the risk of sounding insensitive here, have you seen pictures of this chick? Does she look like she could paddle her way out of an inflatable pool, much less be on USC's crew team? I'm not condoning what these people did, not at all, but doesn't some of this fall on the universities involved? Did someone think to check Olivia Jade's high school records to see if she participated in any sports? You mean to tell me if my parents had a few million dollars lying around, I could have been the starting center for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in 1992? (Actually that's a bad example)
I agree that the real victims here are the hard working kids who have the work ethic and the grades to get into these schools, but not the money. Or those kids who earned a spot in one of these prestigious schools, only to lose their spot to one of these spoiled brats. I have no problem seeing the book thrown at Loughlin, Huffman and their husbands, Gianulli and Frank Gallagher himself William H. Macy.
But I also believe the universities aren't the victims here. In fact I believe they are just as culpable.
As loyal readers of this post know, I am loathe to discuss anything relating to football this time of year. I think anyone who reports on the NFL Scouting Combine should have their credentials revoked*. But I have to admit, this was an interesting football week around these parts.
SPORTS: Football week in NY
First my Jets: In the span of 24 hours, the Jets signed an all-pro, watched as another all-pro changed his mind at the last minute, then signed another superstar. Typical day.
As soon as free agency opened, the Jets signed former Raven LB CJ Mosley. Then they appeared to have a deal in place with Vikings LB Anthony Barr. Only to have Barr change his mind and re-sign with Minnesota.
Last year QB Kirk Cousins flirted with the Jets before signing with the Vikings, and though I defended him at the time, it is obvious that he used the Jets to drive up his price. Barr says he didn't do that, but he could be full of beans. In any event I'm hoping he Vikings go 0-16 and both those guys end up on IR. More likely, Minnesota will make it to the Super Bowl and lose to the Patriots. You can pin that one up on your fridge.
However the Jets saved face by signing disgruntled RB Le'Veon Bell from the Steelers. This guy looks like the real deal. He sat out last year in a contract dispute, so maybe he's a bit of a headcase and he may be rusty, but I still think it was worth a shot.
And then there were the Giants...
Trades don't shock me anymore. They really don't. 31 years ago, when Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Oilers to the Kings, that's when I ceased to be shocked by any trades. Gretzky was far and away the best player in his sport. And he was traded in his prime.
That said, I didn't see the Odell Beckham trade to the Browns coming.
And here's what I don't get... Yes, they gave him a ridiculous contact that they probably felt they needed to shed, but much of his contract for 2019 is still counting against the Giants salary cap, so was this really a salary dump? And the return wasn't much to write home about, so they got rid of a great player (albeit a head case) for very little in return and they have a bunch of dead money on their cap. I can totally understand why Giants fans are shaking their heads. I would be too.
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I've often complained about how 3 of my 4 teams have horrible ownership (one could argue that all 4 of them do, but for me the jury is still out on the Johnson brothers) The Wilpons are a joke, and of course two of my teams are owned by arguably the biggest a$$hole in New York, James Dolan. If you need any more proof of what an absolute turd this guy is, consider that he had a fan permanently removed from Madison Square Garden because the fan had the audacity to suggest that Dolan sell the Knicks.
WFAN's Maggie Gray was forced to apologize to this creep for things she said about him (accurate things BTW) in order for the FAN to have access to the Garden. I have no such worries. I can't afford to go to the Garden now. And for what? To watch two $hitty teams? If the ticket prices are this outrageous now, how are they going to be if/when the Knicks and the Rangers become good again?
James Dolan's skin makes Donald Trump's skin look like it's made of iron. And again, if you think I'm complaining more about Dolan than I am about Trump, remember, we can (theoretically at least) vote Trump out. We're stuck with this other dickwad.
He Should sell the team. He should skip town. He's a piece of $h-t. And I'd have not one iota of trouble telling him that to his face.
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I have no problem taking President Trump to task when he deserves it. I also will give him credit where credit is due. His decision to order the Boeing 787 Max planes grounded this week after a second plane crashed in less than a year was the right call. You want give him flack for not doing it right away? Fair enough, but he did the right thing.
And finally, I read somewhere that the head of the Gambino crime family was killed outside his home on Staten Island this week. That stuff actually still happens? Seriously, I haven't heard of anybody getting whacked since the Sopranos went off the air.
We probably won't publish next week. I hope you all enjoyed your St. Patrick's Day weekend
and Have a Great Week
*that's a joke. I'm not trying to censor the media.
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