Hey Everyone:
Sorry we didn't publish last week. Celebrated another milestone birthday with another long time, well, almost lifetime friend.
Back when WM was a recap of my wild and crazy weekends, the star of many of those recaps was one Patti-Ann Fitzsimmons, who to this day is one of the best planners of get togethers I have ever known. Those crazy nights on the Upper East Side and in midtown Manhattan were orchestrated by Patti-Ann. And we were coming from all over, PA and crew were usually coming in from Westchester/the Northern Bronx, while the rest of us were coming in from Rockaway, Woodside, Brooklyn, etc. But we all got there, and many times this was before everyone had a cellphone.
And that's why we all descended on Rory Dolan's in Yonkers last Saturday to celebrate.
What a blast it was. A perfect Saturday afternoon. Paddy Tubz who've I known even longer than I've known Patti-Ann, was the DJ, the France-England World Cup quarterfinal was on (rendering the majority of Rory's a French FootBall Club supporter bar no doubt). And of course catching up with everybody. Friends I hadn't seen in years.
Two weekends in a row, getting to catch up with old friends. What an awesome way to kick off the holidays.
Before we proceed, here's a programming note.... We'll have our 6th annual Christmas Eve Spectacular next Saturday night, posting to Facebook at 8 PM EST. After a couple of years struggling to come up with interesting stuff to write, I think we'll have a fun one next week. Pretty stoked about it actually, so I hope you'll enjoy it.
Let's get onto the news of the last couple weeks..
FREED-Brittney Griner
Lots to unpack here. Here's where I will start.
1) I am happy that WNBA star Brittney Griner is home. To me, no matter how you slice it, 9 years in prison for not even pot possession, but pot residue possession? That's not a prison sentence, that's a hostage situation, which is how I viewed this. I'm not an expert on Russian law, (such as it is) but I'm pretty sure if a Russian citizen was caught with some grass, they wouldn't be sent packing for 9 years. Sure Griner been more careful? Probably. But 9 years for pot? C'mon.
2) There was a time not too long ago, where not standing for our National Anthem was a offense by which while I knew you couldn't be locked up for it, I also had little sympathy for the people who chose to take this stance.
I heard many people saying this week that they didn't want Griner released from Russian prison because she "hated America" This is actually her exact quote to the Arizona Republic back in 2020 when she suggested that they not play the National Anthem before the WNBA Games that season. Keep in mind, this was in the heart of the George Floyd protests, not long after Breona Taylor's death and while the arenas were empty because of COVID-19.
"I don't mean that in any disrespect to our country. My dad was in Vietnam and a law officer for 30 years. I wanted to be a cop before basketball. I do have pride for my country."
Maybe I'm buggin, but that don't sound like someone who hates America, maybe just someone who thinks we can do better.
When she was first drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, I read a profile of her in either SI of ESPN the Magazine. She is 6ft 9in tall, a Gay, African-American woman. She talked about the slew of insults she received growing up. You want to say it's unfair to lay that entirely on our country? Fair enough. But is also fair to say that our country as a whole hasn't always done a great job protecting folks like Brittney Griner? I mean, if we're being honest here, how can we not say that?
3) Then there is the criticism of President Biden and the deal he made to get Griner free.
There are two fronts on this:
a) why free Griner when there is another prisoner, a genuine American hero, a former US Marine named Paul Whelan, who was convicted of espionage, and sentenced to 16 years in jail, of which he has now served 3 years.
So let's get this out of the way first...officials have stressed that this wasn't a choice Biden or anyone else in America got to make. It wasn't Griner or Whelan, it was Griner or they both stay in Russian prison. This was clearly a case of a bird in hand being better than two in a bush. Anything else is just right wing baloney.
b) and to me what's a more fair criticism of the deal is what the US gave up to secure Griner's release. Viktor Bout, nicknamed the Merchant of Death, is a convicted arms dealer. Amongst Bout's clients, were al-Qaeda, the Taliban and militants in Rawanda, three groups who are clearly not on our side. I was watching CBS this Morning the day Griner was released. Catherine Herridge a CBS Investigative Correspondent said she spoke to some of the federal agents who were involved in apprehending Bout, said that "while they wanted to see families reunited, they still had deep concerns with any trade involving Bout because of the message it would send: that it makes good business sense to target Americans."
I can't get past the feeling that perhaps we could have found someone else to trade to get Griner out of Russia. I know people much smarter than we were working on this deal, but the Merchant of Death for a basketball player? I'm sorry, but that's a reasonable concern. And again, I believe the Biden adminisration acted here in good faith. I guess we just have to pray that we did enough damage to Bout's operation that we were able to dismantle his network and keep him out of business.
As a fan of teams who have won but two championships in my almost 50 years on earth, I have extensive experience in holding my breath for trades to work out. What's one more?
WORLD CUP FINAL: An all time classic
The final game of the World Cup never ceases to amaze me.
Think about all the hype the Super Bowl gets in this country. Millions of people watch it, but there are plenty of places in the world that simply aren’t interested.
But the World Cup has the attention of every corner of our planet.
And that was all I could think about as I watched both the French and Argentinean players lining up to take those penalty shots. How must that feel? How do you block that out as you prepare to take those kicks?
I was happy Argentina won, happy for Lionel Messi to finally win. I thought they had it wrapped up, what with a two goal lead and clearly dominating possession in the second half. But these games can turn around in a heartbeat and this one did. The French, scoring on a penalty kick and then tying it up a minute or so later.
And anytime a champion is crowned in overtime, it’s the most dramatic way to win and the most excruciating way to lose.
Congratulations to Argentina. Condolences to France. In 2026, the fun comes here.
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I’m not going to bore you by kvetching about the Jets. Only to say I don’t blame Zach Wilson or even Robert Saleh’s clock management. I blame the poor defense. That game winning TD the Lions scored was inexcusable.
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Happy Chanukah to all who celebrate.
Christmas Eve Special next Saturday at 8 PM.
Till then
Stay Safe
and Have a Great Week
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