Hey:
So here we are with our Fall Finale. I know it's cliché, but I can't believe how fast the end of this year has gone. I feel like I was sitting watching Notre Dame-Florida State, and bemoaning the end of the summer just a couple weeks ago. That was September 5th. And now here we are, less than a week away from Christmas.
I'm going to take a minute here as we wrap things up for 2021 and make the same plea I made back when we did our season finale in August. Please get the COVID-19 vaccine. I have tried not to get into it too much, because I'm not looking to get into a fight here with anyone.
But on Friday, 21,027 new cases of COVID were reported here in NY. And I believe that the reason many of those 21.027 aren't going to die a painful death is because of the vaccines.
I'm vaccinated and boosted. I'm not worried about getting it. If I get it, I'll likely survive it. I have two fears. One is that I'll get it and give it to someone who is unvaccinated. And to be honest, I'm not even that worried about that. If at this point you're not getting vaccinated, well I hope you don't get COVID. But if you do, you made your bed.
My other fear, and this really is the one that makes me worried, is that our hospitals are going to be overwhelmed again, and that our doctors and nurses are going to end up working themselves to the bone.
Again, if you have questions, talk to the doctors. I've yet to talk to one who has said not to get it. And I talk to doctors all the time.
The US is at 804,000 COVID-19 deaths. That's less than 200,000 away from 1 million people. My wish for 2022, is that we don't reach that number. I still believe that we can avoid that grim milestone.
Please.
OK, I'm putting that soapbox away now. Let's get to some other topics of interest....
BASEBALL: Mets get a manager (finally)
Christmas came about a week early for some of us Mets fans, as Santa Steve Cohen delivered us a legit, big league manager, who has a proven track record of getting the most out of his teams.
William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter was announced as the new Mets skipper on Saturday afternoon. Of all the things the Mets have done this year, most of them have pissed me off. This is the complete opposite. This was the one move I really wanted them to make.
I know there are going to be critics out there who say Buck hasn't won a World Series. Well, I'm pretty sure he would have at least gotten to one in 1994*, before the game was shut down due to a work stoppage (sound familiar?)
And the Diamondnacks won in 2001, a year after Buck was let go. But he basically built that team, remember, Showalter was the first person D'Back's owner Jerry Colangelo hired in the entire organization. That championship team had Buck's finger prints all over it.
But to me the most important aspect of this whole deal is that we finally have an adult in charge again. We haven't had that since Terry Collins. I think the Mets played hard for Mickey Calloway, but his lack of experience cost them a few games, not the least of which was the Mets batting out of order in 2018. I still can't believe that happened in a major league baseball game. And Louis Rojas I still think may one day turn out to be a good manager, but he lost the clubhouse last year and he too made some strange moves.
I'm not saying Showalter is going to push the right button every time, but I think he'll push it more often than not. And we shouldn't have anymore squirrel/rat debates going on during games either.
I know I shouldn't get my hopes up again, but I just feel this was the right move at the right time. We'll see how it all shakes out.
ROCK AND ROLL: Boss' Big Deal..
Right before I went to bed on Wednesday night, I looked at my phone and saw a Breaking News Alert from CNN with a picture of Bruce Springsteen and my heart sank to my stomach. I thought for a second that The Boss had died. After everything else that has gone on the last couple of years, of course I was inclined to think the worst.
Alas, it was quite the opposite, Bruce is not only alive and well, he became even more insanely rich than he already was.
Springsteen sold the rights to his music publishing to Sony Records for $500 million. Why that news couldn't wait till the morning is something we may never know. But yeah, that's a lot of broccoli.
I'm not even that big a Bruce fan. The stuff he does that I like, I really like. But he has written and preformed a TON of stuff in his almost 50 year career. I feel like the true blue Springsteen fan looks down on the casual fan. I remember when he first went to Sirius/XM Chris Mad Dog Russo had a show pretty much devoted to Bruce, and he and the callers were discussing songs I had never heard of and probably never heard since.
Still, I was relieved that he was still with us. And happy for him that he has half a billion bucks in the bank. Plenty of money to go down to the well tonight and drink till he gets his fill.
FOOTBALL: Give the kid a break…
After last week’s latest Jets disaster, a basically no-show performance against the New Orleans Saints, the press around here began wondering aloud if the Jets had once again blew it in the draft by taking Zach Wilson with the 2nd overall pick.
“He’s not playing like the 2nd overall pick in the draft” I heard Boomer Esiason bemoan on the Boomer and Gio show on the FAN. Mike Lupica in his Sunday Shooting from the Lip column asked if it was possible that the Jets could have drafted two top 5 QB busts within 4 years.
Great idea a-holes. Let’s run another young QB out of town.
I’m no expert, but I’ve seen some things from this kid that make me think he could be a really good player. He made a couple plays against the Dolphins today that had to be seen to be believed. Yeah I know the knock on him is that he can make the spectacular plays, but not the easy ones. Well, isn’t it easier to work on the easy ones if the big ones come naturally?
I realize the media’s job is to report what they see. I’m not suggesting they run cover for the Jets. But as a fan, I’d implore the organization to ignore the noise and stick with the plan. Joe Douglas has the track record, and as much as I hated the Jamal Adams trade, those picks are coming due this year, and with the Seahawks struggling, they are going top be good picks.
Nobody is more frustrated about not making the playoffs as I am. But I’ve seen some positive stuff from the Jets this season, their record not withstanding. They got to give Wilson a fair shot. Another rebuild is not acceptable, so why don’t we let this one finish up? That’s all I’m saying.
All right folks, so we are going to do a Christmas Eve Special I've decided. We're going to update some lists and links and try to find some surprises. Then we'll have our year in review. The Christmas Eve Special will be Thursday Night. Till then..
Stay Safe
and Have a Great Week
*I’m not as convinced they would have won the whole thing.. That 1994 Expos team was awesome
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