Weekly Mail November 21, 2021

 

Hello Everyone:

For a few years, I held a little contest trying to guess where the first reports of wide scale violence on Black Friday would take place. I'll admit that was probably in poor taste and low class, but part of it was to raise awareness of a larger point.... that more and more, Thanksgiving is really becoming Black Friday Eve. The real meaning of the holiday is going by the wayside. 

And I have a reeeal bad feeling that this upcoming Black Friday is going to be the worst one yet. What with the supply chain issues, the rising costs of goods, and mostly because we are emerging from the pandemic and people are itching to get out and do anything, I think it's going to be a real $h-tshow on Friday. 

And what's not helping is that as the roads are getting more crowded, people are just losing their minds, or is that just a figment of my imagination?  I live on Long Beach Road and I feel like I'm taking my life in my hands just driving to my house every evening. And that's out in the burbs. 

I was coming home from a visit to Woodside a couple weeks back. Granted it was rush hour, but forget the perpetual traffic on the LIE, just getting from Roosevelt Ave to the LIE ramp was a nightmare. I figured I would just drive through Woodhaven and Ozone Park, but that was a parking lot too. And when we did move, it was people cutting each other off and all that kind of crap.  

I really hope I'm wrong. Maybe they'll be an early Christmas miracle and everyone will behave themselves, but I don't see it. I just see a bunch of angry frustrated people who have been shut in for a year and a half going to war over a new toaster. 

Speaking of angry people.....

VERDICT-Kyle Rittenhouse found NOT GUILTY

Before I get into our analysis of the verdict, I have to ask if any of you heard about this. Again, a tip of the hat to ace NBC News.com reporter David K. Li who has always been able to sniff out these stories. 

So my understanding was that while the trail was being conducted, there were 18 jurors listening to the testimony. But when both sides rested, only 12 jurors were to deliberate. I'm guessing the other 6 were alternates.

So how did they go about deciding which 12 would get to decide the case and which 6 would be on stand-by? Apparently, the defendant Rittenhouse chose 

Per Dave's article on NBC News.com

The Kenosha jury was picked from a pool of 18 people who sat through two weeks of testimony and arguments in a case that has drawn national attention and sparked debates over gun rights and race.

Rittenhouse randomly drew six jurors' numbers out of a tumbler, which resulted in the 12 selected to decide his fate.

Now again, I don't know if Rittenhouse was genuinely breaking down on the stand or trying to win an Oscar last week, but I do know this..If I was on trial for my life, and in order to choose the folks who were deciding my fate, I had to draw from a tumbler like we're playing Bingo at the Knights of Columbus? I'd be hysterical. 

Well, he obviously drew the right numbers because on Friday (as I predicted in last week's post*) Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all counts. My social media lit up like the 4th of July with many of you celebrating the verdict and taking the media to task. 

I of course think the little bastard was guilty as sin and got away with murder. I also think the judge in this case tainted the jury with his obvious contempt for the prosecution. Now, this isn't COVID-19 or the terrorist attack on the Capitol here, as I said, I know many of you were happy, and I'm willing to let you convince me why I'm wrong. I don't think you will, I can't believe for one minute you can convince me that a 17 year old kid crossing state lines with an AR-15 automatic rifle was going to result in anything good coming out of it. But like I said, have at it. 

If there was any good news come out of the verdict, it's that the protests resulting from the verdict have been mostly peaceful. There was a riot declared in Portland, and a police car in Brooklyn vandalized. Those who attack the cops should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law (just so we're clear here) but it's far less that what some had predicted. 

It's a 2nd Amendment issue, its a systemic racism issue. It's the perfect brew of what divides us in this country. And it did here again. Just under a week before Thanksgiving.

Happy Holidays America.

All right onto less important, but equally aggravating news

BASEBALL-No More Thor...

The author with Noah Syndergaard-outside Madison Square Garden April 23, 2017

I'd love nothing more (than playing for the Mets) New York has a special place in my heart and always will be-Noah Syndergaard- (9/29/2021)

So naturally, he takes the first offer he gets to jump ship. 

Now, I've been going back and forth on this. Did he really jump or was he pushed, either by the Mets not reaching out to him, or by their Keystone Cops like search for a GM (more on that later). 

My first reaction was anger at the Mets. 6 weeks dicking around looking for someone to run baseball operations was bound to cost them. Bob Raissman in his Sunday column made the ridiculous statement that the same people bashing the Mets for taking their time on the search were the ones taken them to task for their poor judgment hires (Mickey Calloway, Jared Porter and Zach Scott)

Jeez Louise, you knew in the middle of August you needed a new GM, why not start doing your due diligence then? If you really thought you had a shot at Theo Epstein, there was nothing preventing you from talking to him in early September. I know David Stearns and Billy Beane you had to wait for, but that didn't mean you couldn't have backups ready to go. 

But then I thought back to some of the things Thor said as he was making his comeback. 

"I can't picture myself and don't want to picture myself playing anywhere else:

"It would be a tough pill to swallow not wearing a Met jersey next year" 

But it seems like all it took was $3 million more. That was the pill he had to swallow. So he comes off as a punk. 

Now Joel Sherman wrote that the Mets forced Syndergaard's hand. They didn't follow up after making the qualifying offer because they really weren't interested in keeping him. They made the qualifying offer just so they would get the draft pick compensation for losing him. 

And that made me blow my stack too. Because you know what? F-ck draft picks.

I'm sick of draft picks. I'm sick of my teams leading the league in draft picks. The Jets have turned this into an art form, the Rangers too. The Mets had the 10th pick in last year's draft, drafted an apparent stud, then didn't sign him for one reason or another. In return they got, you guessed it, another draft pick. 

C'mon!

Draft picks are great if you have someone who knows WTF to do with them. None of my teams apparently possess that capability. If Michael Conforto walks and we get yet another draft pick (which I'm sure is where this is headed) they can take the draft pick and shove it for all I care. 

Of course it's just like the Mets to hire a GM just a couple days after losing a key player. Especially if the player left because there wasn't a GM in place. The hiring of Billy Eppler as GM makes me more relived than excited. At least someone wanted the gig. Not much on his resume to get pumped up about, but again, at least we got someone to take the job. 

Maybe I'm being unfair here. Maybe $21 million a year for someone coming off major arm surgery is insane. Maybe Thor really did want to come back here, but didn't get the vibes he needed from the Mets. Maybe the Mets have a plan here, though I find that hard to believe. Maybe by this time next year, we'll be breathing a sigh of relief that we didn't give Thor the money because he tore another arm muscle lifting weights on Venice Beach and needs more surgery.

I wrote at the end of the season that I was as down on the Mets as I have been in years. They have done nothing to change that feeling and in fact have made it even worse. It is what it is. As for Thor, all I can say is, as I am a little over a year and a half away from 50, you would think that athletes ditching their fan base for the big mamoo is something I'd just deal with already.

But, well, here we are. 

FOOTBALL: Jets QB Fiasco

Two days after saying "Now everyone wants to throw him away, he deserves better than that" in reference to Mike White, Jets coach Rob Saleh did just that, announcing washed up Joe Flacco would start Sunday's game against the Dolphins. 

White threw 4 picks last week against the Bills, which while par for the course with Jets QB's, also should be taken with a grain of salt, as the Bills boast one of the NFL's best defenses. Also, the Bills were coming off a horrible loss to the Jaguars the week before and were ripe to kick someone's a$$. 

I'm sure White isn't as great as he played against the Bengals on Halloween, and I'm also sure he's not as awful as he played against the Bills last week. I think he deserved another shot today. Flacco is done, he's barely a backup on a decent team, which of course the Jets are not.

Zach Wilson is still the QB of the future, but I'm actually all for letting him sit a couple extra weeks even after he gets healthy. Let him watch and learn a bit without throwing him to the wolves. 

In the meantime, lets see what they have with White. We know what we have with Flacco. 

I didn’t get to see much of the game today, but doesn’t look like I missed much. Flacco’s numbers were respectable, but again how does that help moving forward? What we need apparently is a new kicker, as the guy we have now missed two field goals and kicked the late on side kick right into the numbers of the Miami return man. 

FALSE ADVERTISING: All you can eat? 

A guy who live streams his trips to restaurants in China got himself banned from an all you can eat buffet because, well, he ate all he could. 

According to the BBC, the man, known only as Mr. Kang told Hunan TV that he was banned from Handai Seafood BBQ Buffet in Changsha city. 

The Post said that Kang was able to put away 3.3 pounds (1.5kg) of pork trotters otherwise known as Pig's Feet. The Post also provided a picture of the pig's feet just in case you needed a visual. 

Kang is claiming discrimination. He says Handai Seafood BBQ is extreme eat-ist. Per the BBC.com..

"I can eat a lot - is that a fault?" he said, adding that he didn't waste any of the food.

But the restaurant owner told the same reporter that Mr. Kang was putting him out of pocket.

Out of pocket....gotta love the Brits.

And I love that one of Kang's defenses is that he's not wasting food. His mother must have been Irish Catholic. 

They're starving back in China, so finish whatcha got-

from Nobody Told Me-John Lennon.

Well if anyone is worried about having too many leftovers after Thursday's Thanksgiving dinner, they can invite Mr. Kang over, he'll take care of that issue for you. If he'll eat Pig's feet, Aunt Bertha's overcooked sweet potatoes shouldn't be an issue either. 

                   Does this look like a man who had "All he could eat?"

Please be careful next weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving 

Stay Safe 

and Have a Great Week

*If I could only predict football games like I predict court decisions…

Weekly Mail November 14,2021

 Hello:

What a weather weekend. It was beautiful on Saturday morning then we had rain and wind and in some places even tornadoes, and the next thing you know it was freezing. I mean on the bright side I guess this is what mid to late November is supposed to feel like, but it was so nice and warm earlier this week that it was a bit of a shock to come out of the house Sunday morning into the chill. 

Anyway onto the news…

TRIAL: Kyle Rittenhouse Case

I have no idea if Kyle Rittenhouse, currently on trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin for gunning down two non-victims during protests of the police shooting of Jason Blake. in August 2020, was putting on a show while he was on the stand the other day, or if he was genuinely having a breakdown. As a fellow human being, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he was truly overwhelmed. I won't sit here and make fun of him for that.

But I will also say that if I were on that jury, I'd vote to convict him and send him to the slammer for a long time. 

Rittenhouse went to Kenosha for one reason....to cause trouble. He brought an illegally purchased gun, and not a handgun either, an automatic rifle, across state lines to a place where he knew there were protests going on. That alone should send him up the river...and that's not even what's in dispute.

He's saying he acted in self defense, indeed one of the vict- I mean, one of the people he shot, testified that he was holding a pistol and may have pointed it at Rittenhouse. The other two men Rittenhouse shot were unarmed. 

Rittenhouse is most likely going to walk because the judge on this trial is a joke. If this was a movie, he'd be the classic crooked judge, but unfortunately this is real life and he's making an ass out of himself. He has prohibited the prosecution from referring to the people Rittenhouse shot as “victims” and he yelled at the prosecutor the other day for "rolling his eyes" I give the prosecutor credit for not doing this... Out of Order

It's just a sad situation all around. The National Guard is already in place for when the jury hands down the verdict. This is one of those situations where nobody really wins. 

POLITICS-Crazy Congressman

So let's say for the sake of argument that Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ)  really wasn't threatening to kill Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) or chop up President Biden as he suggested he would in the video he posted on Twitter. Say you were inclined to take him at his word, and say that the video, based on the Japanese Anime series Attack on Titan, was as Gosar stated "symbolizing the battle for the soul of America."  Assume he's just your regular, well adjusted, Trump loving Congressman who respects a well thought out debate and respects other people's opinions, who was just having a little bit of fun. (I'm sure I'm not buying any of that-FYI) 

Then what on earth, not even a year after a group of domestic terrorists attacked the US Capitol and threatened to kill the Vice-President of the United States, would make you think that creating and posting a video like that was a good idea? I'm sorry man, in this political climate, with this much heat, one of these politicians are going to end up getting assassinated. Does anybody have any idea what that would do to the "soul of the nation?" 

They are talking about trying to censure Gosar, because I guess gone are the good old days where threatening to kill one of your colleagues didn't get you kicked out of Congress all together. Aaron Burr must be wondering why he couldn't have been born 200 years later. And I'm sure House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is going to do a whole lotta nothing about it, because well that what he does best. 

We are fair and balanced here at WM, so I have no issue with anyone who wants to take House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California governor Gavin Newsome to task for not masking up during the wedding of oil heiress Ivy Getty last weekend in San Francisco. Vouge reported that the guests were asked to mask up when the Speaker came out to officiate the ceremony-but several pictures from the event show the guests were maskless. Other reports said that everyone attending had to provide proof of vaccination. 

I agree though that the Governor has to put his money where his mouth is and mask up in places where he has mandated masks. Of course the folks making the biggest stink about all this are the ones who aren't vaccinated and or don't think they should have to wear masks. It’s funny how ironic irony can really be.

TV REVIEW: Impeachment: American Crime Story

I didn't think I would have to put in Spoiler Alert here because almost everyone on my reading list lived through this, but for some of you young-ins out there who don't know what happened back in 1998 skip between the stars

*******************************************************************************

This was the third of Ryan Murphy's brilliant American Crime Story Series. The first one The People vs. OJ Simpson was brilliantly done, as was the second one, The Assassination of Gianni Versace. 

Now I remember the Versace murder and the hunt for his killer Andrew Cunanan, but I didn't follow that story as much as I did the OJ trial or the Clinton impeachment. I mean, you couldn't get away from OJ or Clinton-Lewinsky if you tried. The Versace story was huge when the murder happened, when the funeral happened, and when they finally caught Cunanan-(who pulled a "warden from Shawshank Redemption" move to avoid being arrested), but I don't remember a lot of what else happened there.

So here are some thoughts about Impeachment 

1) Apparently, Linda Tripp made Keith Richards look like C. Everett Koop. Every other scene Tripp was firing up another cigarette. I felt like I was second-hand smoking just watching her. I'm not sure if Sarah Paulson is a smoker in real life, but if she's not, she should get hazard pay. She also played Marcia Clark in the OJ series, and again was lighting 'em up, though not nearly as much as she did playing Tripp. Tripp kept the tobacco industry in business. 

to paraphrase Denis Leary.. Of course...she's dead now. 

2) Speaking of Paulson, there may be a better character actress out there then she, but none come to mind right now. I thought she looked just like Marcia Clark, I figured no way she could pull off Linda Tripp. It took a big blond wig, fake teeth and a ton of make-up, but they got the look right. Paulson though captured everything else. The walk, the voice, the attitude etc. I saw an interview with Paulson right before the series started where she said "I had to play the part with a certain amount of sympathy towards (Tripp)." I didn't understand how she could show sympathy towards someone who I would imagine most of us feel deserved none. But if you watched the series, you'd see what she meant. 

3) Now besides Paulson, you had Clive Owen playing President Clinton. I agree with my sister Katie, he didn't really look like the Big Dog, but he sounded just like him to the point where you forgot the physical differences and could totally believe what you were seeing.  Annaleigh Ashford (from the CBS show B-Positive) played Paula Corbin Jones, Taran Killam played Jones's husband Steve, and one of my favorite characters was Killam's real life wife Cobie Smulders (Robin from HIMYM) played a perfect Ann Coulter. 

4) Beanie Feldstein played Monica Lewinsky. She was also quite convincing playing the woman who my old friend Hondo from the Post referred to as the Portly Pepperpot* in his weekly football/current events column. 

5) Colin Hanks I'm sure is a hell of a nice guy, but I don't think he's that great an actor. Maybe I'm unfairly comparing him to his father. I mean he's not awful, but anytime I see him in something. I always feel like I'm watching Colin Hanks and not the character he's supposed to be playing. He played one of Ken Starr's henchmen um I mean lawyers in this series and again, I wasn't buying it. 

6) Edie Falco played Hillary Clinton. She was the perfect choice. All she had to do was channel Carmela Soprano when she caught Tony with one of his Russian goomahs. 

7) The actress who played Linda Tripp’s daughter is really good looking. There is no shot any offspring of Tripp would look like that. 

8) They also made Brett Kavanaugh, another one of Starr’s lawyers out to be a real jackass. We’ll, maybe that’s in the eye of the beholder.

So as much as I thought the production was excellent, I found this series hard to watch. I know that sounds weird being that the other two series were about murders and this one was about sex in the Oval Office**  but I just remember all of this, and more importantly I remembered how I felt when it was happening 20 something years ago.

Monica Lewinsky and I have very little in common, but we were born exactly two weeks apart. When all this was going on, I was just getting started in my professional life, making connections learning the ropes and all that stuff,. But because I was going through the early stages of full time employment around the same time she was, I felt for her. Now. I'm not suggesting I did anything that unseemly to advance my career, (and I'm not exactly sure she was thinking along those lines either, I think she really fell for Clinton) but I think I had some of the same anxieties and uncertainties that come with your first real full time job.

And I'll also mention  (and anyone who worked with me from 1998-2001 will attest to this) I too worked with a bleach-blonde, chain smoking loudmouth who thought she was more important than she was. So I felt Monica's pain there too. 

And watching as Feldstein's Monica was developing a friendship with that beast, Paulson's Tripp was cringe worthy, because you knew where this was going to lead. And in the 6th episode, where they pretty much held Monica hostage in a hotel room, well shoot, I was up half the night after watching that. 

Originally the next installment of the series was going to do with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But now sources are saying that it will deal with the rise and fall of Studio 54. Not sure I'm that interested in that, but we'll see if/when it comes to fruition. 

American Crime Story…. 3 for 3

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I’m not going to get into Aaron Rogers moronic take on his COVID vaccine situation. But I will say that he and his fiancée, actress Shailane Woodley are fast overtaking Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez as America’s most obnoxious couple. 

The Daily Mail posted a picture they mistakenly said was the Packers QB. Woodley, who along with Rogers has been slamming the media, did so again, but in the process seemed to be ragging on the poor dude who did nothing more than have his picture taken. 

Woodley made fun of this innocent guy’s feet, (and the implications of what big feet are equated to) and his car (Aaron would never drive a car like THAT) 

I imagine she was just trying to be funny, but to me she came off mean spirited. And combine that with Rogers pants being on fire after saying he was vaccinated, and now I just want the two of them to go away. 

————————————————————————

A couple of things I forgot to mention last week....

November 7, last Sunday, marked the 30th anniversary of the evening Magic Johnson retired from the Lakers because he tested positive for HIV. Every once in a while someone will post a question on social media to the effect of "What is something kids today wouldn't understand?" For me this is was really and truly something you had to be there for. I'll put it to you this way, remember how you felt when you heard about what happened to Kobe Bryant? That's how it felt watching Magic at the podium announcing he was HIV Positive. Back in 1991, you had HIV you were a dead person walking. 

I didn't think Magic, who was 32 at the time, would make it to 40. Now if he lives another 10 years, he'll have lived 40 years with HIV. And who wants to bet against that happening? 

Also, want to take a minute to wish all of you who have or are still serving our country in the military a happy belated Veteran's Day, and to thank you for your service. It's one of the few things I believe we can still get behind, supporting and celebrating everyone who helped defend our country. I've said many  times how lucky I am that both my grandfathers served in WWII, and both of Timmy's grandfathers served in Vietnam. Timmy's kids unfortunately will be  S.O.L unless he marries the daughter of Gulf War vets.

Again, thank you all for your service. We are all in your debt. 

Stay Safe

and Have a Great Week

*In Googling up Portly Pepperpot, it appears Hondo might have gotten this from Page Six. Until someone tells me otherwise, I’ll believe it was the other way around. I’m biased, as Hondo was one of my favorite people I’ve met at the Post. 

**Of course, if you’re one of those folks who think either Bill or Hillary had something to do with the death of Vince Foster (which the series implies that Tripp clearly did) then I guess you can say there was a murder here too. We here at WM believe the official report that Foster committed suicide in Fort Marcy Park.

Weekly Mail November 7, 2021

 

Hi!!

I'm sorry I didn't publish last week. I did write a blog, but I wanted to include what an awesome Halloween we all had. But I never got around to it. So we will start there.

The weather for Halloween was pretty perfect. We set up our candy and delegated Tim to hand it out to the kids. Tim figured he was too old to trick or treat. He's also pushing 6ft, another reason he was reluctant.

But we have some pretty awesome neighbors, and when Tim's buddy Luke and his parents came by, they insisted Tim come along. I took over candy duties and got to see all the really cool costumes. I think my favorite was a little girl in our complex named Sedona, who dressed up as a donut. (Sedona the Donut-LOL) 

And because the weather was so nice, I fired up the grill for dinner. I was chillin and grillin out in the back, watching the Jets-Bengals game on my iPad. And I thought I needed to get my eye perscription changed, because the Jets were actually looking like a professional football team...with their backup quarterback nonetheless!

At one point, the Jets scored a touchdown, and did a double flea-flicker to get the 2-point conversion, and I was like a 10 year old in a candy shop. I even found myself saying, "If Joe Burrow marched the Bengals down the field and wins this game, I'll still have enjoyed the game*

But it was a moot point because the Jets defense held and they beat the team who coming in had the best record in the AFC. The experts were calling it the biggest upset of the week if not the entire season. 

And again, it was all with the back-up QB Mike White , running the show. He threw the Jets first 400 yard game in over 20 years, and the Jets scored 30 points for the first time in 2 seasons.

Of course the Jets didn't even give me a whole week to savor the victory, as they went back to being the Jets Thursday night in Indianapolis. White, who's jersey was sent to Canton for crying out loud, got hurt in the Jets second series, and the defense decided to take the night off. 

But, back to last Sunday, I grilled a really nice salmon and some potatoes and made a real nice dinner out of it. Timmy came home with a ton of candy, and nobody questioned his age or his height. People are good. 

After the last year and a half we all had, it was great seeing the kids out and about. It really was an amazing Halloween, one I'll remember for a long time. 

OK, let's see what else we got going on

ELECTION DAY 2021-Now the other reason I didn't publish last week was because I almost totally forgot Election Day was coming up and I didn't preview any of the races. 

The mayor's race was between Democrat Eric Adams and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Of course living out on LI, I couldn't vote in this one, and I have to tell you, I may have voted for Curtis if I was still in the city. I realized that Adams was a virtual shoe-in, and I'm hoping that his being a former cop, that he is able to gain the respect and trust of the NYPD, while also making life better for ordinary citizens of the city, something his predecessor, the Dope from Park Slope was unable to do in his 8 year reign of error. 

Now I'm not really sure that Sliwa was cut out for City Hall, but I will say this about him: I really believe that he loves this city and would do anything he could to protect it and make it better for everybody. Sure, he's a ham, always has been. There's a part of me that would have liked to see what he could have done as mayor. What can I say?

The two governor's races that took place were said to have been indicators of how folks feel about the job President Biden is doing. So the fact that Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat and former Governor Terry McAuliffe sent champagne corks a-popping all over GOP land. And as a bonus, there are reports that Youngkin's 17 year old son twice tried to cast a ballot for his old man, so there's the election fraud that Captain Orange and his crew keep telling us all about.

In New Jersey, incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy won, but he needed to squeak out a win against Republican Jack Cittarelli to do so. Murphy didn't even get 50% of the vote in a state that went bigly for Biden in 2020. So chalk that up as a moral victory for the Republicans. 

In my neck of the woods, it was pretty much a Red Wave. Laura Curran the Nassau County supervisor was upset by Bruce Blakeman. I was happy to see that Todd Kaminsky was defeated for Nassau County District Attorney, I still wish he had lost his Congressional seat to Fran Becker. 

The hopes and dreams of the Republicans is that all these wins are a harbinger of things to come, namely in next year's midterm elections. If there is really to be a "red wave" that's where the right would want it to happen. That all remains to be seen. A year is a long time and lots of things can happen. The President's infrastructure bill passed the House late Friday night, with 13 Republican's crossing the aisle to vote in favor of it. If the Build Back Better plan passes, that's two in the W column for the President. Not saying he doesn't have a ton of issues to address, but like I said, a year is a long time. 

SPORTS RECAP:

I had turned in around 10:30 on Tuesday night. I woke up a couple hours later and checked my phone...

This is the 21st Century version of what Don McLean described as Bad News on the Doorstep...

I was hoping Bobby V would become mayor of Stamford, if for no other reason he'd make things interesting at Stamford's City Hall. You want to talk about fun press conferences! On the other hand, he is now free to become the Mets Head of Baseball Operations, a job apparently nobody in America seems to want.

The Rangers losing in Vancouver, while not the end of the world, especially at this juncture of the season, does present an issue I'm all too familiar with. A goalie/pitcher done in by a lack of goal/run support. Igor Shesterkin has been awesome this year, but so far our big guns have been silent, with the exception of Chris Kreider. 

But the most disturbing thing that happened on Tuesday night, was the Braves winning the World Series. At the risk of sounding like sour grapes, the Braves winning the World Series was the capper on what to me was the most aggravating baseball season I've experienced in a long time. Even years where the Mets went wire to wire in last place wasn't at bang your head on the wall frustrating as this year was. Between deGrom getting hurt, the dysfunction in the Met front office, the collapse of the team on the field, plus teams like the Dodgers, Astros and of course the Braves enjoying tremendous success, there were no feel good stories, nothing to say "Hey at least this happened." All the news was pretty much bad. 

And to top it all off, unless a miracle happens, there's going to be a lockout starting December 2. TBH, that might just be what the doctor ordered. 

Back to the Jets for a minute... I realize that the reason the Jets had to throw the ball so much on Thursday night was because the defense thought the game against the Colts was on Sunday, but still 317 yards and 3 TD's is pretty good for a 3rd string journeyman QB. I think it also speaks to the fact that GM Joe Douglas may have actually made a few decent picks in these drafts. Running Back Michael Carter had 150 all purpose yards against the Bengals, and Elijah Moore, a wide receiver has had two nice games in a row, he was a rare bright spot against the Colts. 

We started off this post on a happy note, so let's see if we can get back to happy... 

I saw this story in the Post a couple of weeks back and it cracked me up...

BUDGETING: The Secret to Financial Freedom..

A 33 year old electrical engineer in California, claims that he was able to pay off his student loans, get married and buy a house, by eating almost every meal for the past 11 years at his local Six Flags Amusement Park.

The man, who only gave his first name, Dylan, told Melmagazine.com that when he got his first job, his office was located right near Six Flags Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita, just north of Los Angeles. A roller coaster aficionado, he was looking at his options for an annual pass, when he noticed that for $150 a year, he could get access to the park, and two meals a day.  

So he would trek over there for lunch and then hit it again after work for dinner. That was a lot of burgers, fries and cardboard pizza, but it kept his belly and his wallet full. 

Thankfully for the sake of his health, he has since cut back to 4 times a week. That way he's not blowing his wife out of bed every night. And while he admits, "It's still amusement park food" the menu has gotten more diverse. 

I don't know man, maybe it's because I have a heart history or maybe it's just common sense, but I don't know if I could do that. One of the things he discusses on the "healthy side" is a Thanksgiving Dog. It's a turkey hot dog topped with cranberry sauce, stuffing and a slathering of mayonnaise. Blleech!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Thanksgiving Dog

If that's the kind of shit you have to eat in California to save some cash, I think you're better off being poor. Can you imagine? 

When I first saw the story, and saw that he was able to pay off his debt like this, I thought maybe it's guys like these we should be sending to Congress. But at some point this guy's gotta realize you can't take it with you. And on a diet of amusement park food, you're going a lot sooner than later, believe you me. 

Clocks went back one hour Sunday morning. The end of DST to me always means winter is around the corner. But I was at my folk’s apartment on Sunday evening and got to see this..

That made it easier to handle. Well, that and the extra hour of sleep. 

Stay safe

and Have a Great Week 

*I know that is probably nonsense but it’s a nice thought