Weekly Mail June 27, 2021

 So first a belated Happy Father’s Day to all, I’m sorry I didn’t get to wish you this last week. I hope everyone enjoyed their day. 

Last Friday night we had our 30 year high school reunion. Two of my classmates, Chris Haughie and Mike O'Sullivan bought the Wharf on 116 Street in Rockaway, so that's where we had it. Jon Gaspari organized the reunion. 

It was a perfect night weather-wise and the view of Manhattan that you get from the outdoor deck is spectacular. And of course, getting to see the guys I got to spend the better part of 4 years with was a blast. 

It was nice really just to be out at a bar again, to be honest. We had a lot of laughs, a lot of good memories, and a lot of catching up. And it took me two full days to recover, hence no WM last week.

Hey, I’ve been outta high school 30 years now, I’m gettin old man!

Anyway... 

MUSIC: Beatles Documentary 

There was good news and bad news come out about the upcoming Beatles Documentary. The good news is that director Pater Jackson has added another three hours of footage. The bad news is that it is once again being pushed back, this time to November.

I'm also not happy that they are not going to show it in theaters, instead it will stream on Disney Plus. I was really looking forward to watching the famous 1969 Apple Rooftop concert on the big screen. I just think that would have been fun. 

This sounds more like the Beatles Anthology that they showed on ABC around Thanksgiving 1995. I mean don't get me wrong, it will still be a great thing to watch, and I'm sure Jackson will knock it out of the park. I would just rather see it sooner than later and with a whole bunch of like minded fans in a movie theater. 

RELIGION: No Communion for the President?

OK, so I had started to write about this last week, but there were reports going around that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who I always feel should have better things to do (like making sure priests keep their hands to themselves) have advanced a measure that might deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights. Turns out this was not totally accurate. 

What is accurate is that the bishops are preparing a report called The Meaning of the Eucharist in the Church. It was thought that somewhere in this report, that the bishops will propose not allowing pro choice Catholic politicians to receive the sacrament. Turns out, at least according to Bishop Edward Scharfenberger of Albany, the Bishops do not have the authority to do something like that. 

The report is more designed to educate and clarify what the Eucharist means. To reinforce that when the bread and wine is consecrated, that it becomes the Body and Blood of Christ. 

As I read the Bishop’s explanation, he really wasn’t clear in saying who if anybody had the right to deny a politician or any known Catholic who may not conform to the entirety of the Church’s teachings, Holy Communion.  

This is getting attention of course because President Biden, only our nation's 2nd Catholic President, and the first since JFK, is pro-choice. 

I'm not going to use this forum to get into an abortion debate, that's a waste of time and energy. I do however, question the logic behind denying any politician Communion. At best, it's bad PR. At worst it reeks of hypocrisy. And where do you draw the line once you go there? 

Mike Pence was the governor of Indiana, a state that has the death penalty. While no one was executed when he was in office, it was still the law. Say someone had been put to death, and Pence, as governor, and a practicing Catholic, could have stayed the execution. Would that also qualify to keep Pence from receiving the sacrament? 

That's what I mean, where do you draw the line? 

And regardless of how one might feel about Biden, he is a fully practicing Catholic. He doesn't just go to church to preen for the cameras. I really hope that this bishop is right and that this denying of Communion is not really on the table. 

RIP: The Nets and the Islanders 

Well, so much for that debate as to where the Nets are going to hold their championship parade, as they didn’t even make it out of the second round of the playoffs, which has to be a huge disappointment. On paper at least, they were better than both the Bucks (who they lost to) and the Hawks (who are now playing the Bucks in the ECF)

I realize that injuries to James Harden and Kyrie Irving played a factor in the series loss, but still, that has to be a huge concern going forward doesn’t it? I mean, you want to say “lets give these guys a full training camp and a full season to jell”, I can dig that. But these guys aren’t getting any younger, and the three of them spent a lot of time this year on IR (or whatever they call it in the NBA). Irving took games off just for $h-ts and Giggles right? Or am I making that up? 

I admit I watched very few Nets games this year. I saw one game against OKC where they scored like 150 points and looked like the Harlem Globetrotters out there. Focused and healthy, they can be dangerous. Too many times it seemed like they were neither. Again, if they don’t win an NBA title, in the next year or so, that trade for Harden is going to go down as a disaster.

As for the Islanders, they made it all the way to the Conference Finals for the 2nd year in a row, and for the 2nd year in a row, they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa will now play the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup. 

I suppose as a Ranger fan I should be giddy that the Isles got sent packing, but to be honest all I did was flashback to May 29, 2015, when my boys were also playing Tampa, also playing Game 7 of the ECF and also got themselves shut out. We lost our game at the Garden whereas the Islanders lost down in Tampa. In other words, I feel your pain. And I really don’t care much for Tampa.

I’ll also say this; if I were and Islander fan, I would have rather lost 8-0 like they did in Game 5, than to lose 1-0 like they did in Game 7. You knew by the end of the first period last Monday that they were toast. That feeling of “If we had just scored one measly goal we might have had a shot in OT” is going to be a hard one to shake. I know because I’ve been there myself more than once. 

One more thing: With the Isles moving into the UBS arena next year, I hope the new digs and the higher ticket prices that go along with them don’t rob them of their soul. The Nassau Coliseum, dump that it was, had to be the loudest building in the NHL. I’m positive they won games there they may have otherwise lost because the fans just had that place rocking. I’ve only been to the Garden once since they did it over and that was for a pre season game, but I’ve heard that the acoustics in the refurbished place are not as loud. That, and the sky high ticket prices that have priced out many passionate fans (like me) have taken some of the magic out of it. For the sake of the Islander fans I care about (and you know who you are) I hope they can rock the new place like they rocked the old barn.

As for the Stanley Cup Finals, no team from up north has won the Cup since the Canadiens did it back in 1993. Here’s hoping they knock the Lightning off, give Canada something to celebrate, and close in on the Yankees for most North American team championships. (Currently it’s Yankees 27, Canadiens 24) 

BASEBALL: Only the Mets

I told you all about the book I read So Many Ways to Lose by Devin Gordon, which was an at times hilarious look at some of the ways the Mets fell spectacularly on their faces. I’ve also heard many of my fellow Met fans talk about something happening that was “the Metsiest thing they have ever seen.”

Well, what happened Friday night gets my vote for the Metsiest thing ever. Because I truly believe the Mets are the only team that could pull this off.

On April 22, 1970, Tom Seaver ended a game against the Padres by striking out the last 10 batters he faced. For 51 years, that record belonged to Seaver and the Mets. Several pitchers over those 51 years have struck out 9 in a row (Including Jacob deGrom earlier this year) but nobody else has struck out 10 in a row

Until Friday night, when Phillies ace Aaron Nola struck out 10 in a row against .....guess who?

Yes my friends, now the Mets are on both ends of the record, which c’mon now, is as Metsiest as you can get right? Add to all this that the Mets actually won the game and that just makes the whole thing more hysterical. 

Thankfully I wasn’t around to witness this monstrosity, as I was visiting some of Tara’s family up in northern Connecticut, which is considered Red Sox nation. But I saw someone on Facebook thanking Pete Alonso for at least making sure Seaver’s record didn’t completely fall.  To paraphrase Cindy Adams (that creep) Only with the Mets kids, only with the Mets. 

Sorry for the delay on this, as I was traveling and only finished it up Monday morning. 

On Thursday 2021 will be half over believe it or not. It will also be called Bobby Bonilla day, which many fans will tell you is the Metsiest thing ever. But you and I know better. :O) 

Stay Safe, 

and Have a Great Week