And we're back.... Happy New Year one and all!
So, walking through the city on Saturday I saw something I feel like I haven't seen in a couple of years,,
Snow.
It just added to the already weird feeling. The tree in Rockefeller Center is still standing and all lit up, as is the tree in Fox Plaza. But that holiday buzz is gone, the huge crowds nowhere to be seen. I don't know what it is, but this year I didn't mind the crowds in Times Square and Rockefeller Center. I kinda miss the holidays.
Part of it is that I had a really nice Christmas. Somewhere along the line I got to most of my family and many friends. It was just a nice time.
By the time I was on my way back to LI, the snow had turned to rain. Once again a big nothing-burger. Some parts of the area got some accumulation, and the Jets and Patriots played in blizzard like conditions up in Foxborough on Sunday, just nothing here in NYC/Nassau.
There was another, Sunday January 7th where we not only GOT the snow they said we were going to get, we got a whole lot more. The Blizzard of 96 left NYC under 2 and 1/2 feet of snow and it stuck around for weeks. I missed the actual blizzard, for the morning of 1/7/96, I, along with Ace and the Razor, headed somewhere warmer, somewhere there was less snow, where we could enjoy some decent weather.
Canada.
Let's get caught up on what's going on lately....
BASKETBALL: Big Knicks Trade...
Last Saturday was Tara and I 18th anniversary. We went out for dinner and had a nice night, but during the day it was the usual Saturday errands, the Will Farrell in Old School Saturday routine as I like to call it. Somewhere along the line I got a frantic call from Timmy, upset that his favorite Knick had just been traded to the Raptors. I first calmed down Tara who thought someone had died, then told Tim I would call him back.
I've gotten back into the NBA somewhat since Tim started following it, but I hadn't really heard of OG Anunoby much less the other two players the Knicks got back in the deal, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn. I knew RJ Barrett, he was Tim's guy, and Immanuel Quickley who seemed to be instant offense off the bench for the Knicks. They also gave up the Pistons 2nd round pick, which being that the Pistons just ended a 27-game losing streak, I would imagine that pick would be quite high in the 2nd round.
My first impression was that was a hell of a lot to give up. Two really good young players and a high pick.
Anunoby is apparently an excellent defensive player, something the Knicks could definitely use, as some of their games this year have been defense optional. He may not score as much as either RJ or IQ, but he still averaging 15 ppg, and he led the league in steals last year.
The papers and the guys on the FAN seemed to be pleased with this deal. Many of the so-called experts seemed to think that Barrett had reached his ceiling as a scorer, with knucklehead FAN morning man Greg Gianotti going as far to call a Barrett "a bust". (He walked that back a bit, explaining while he thought Barrett wasn't a bust per se, his numbers weren't what you wanted from the 3rd pick in the draft) Also, there was the thought that Quickley would get a chance to start in Toronto. Also, there is another school of thought that this is the prelude to another deal in the works. The Knicks apparently still have multiple draft picks they can put together in a package for another star. That remains to be seen.
From where I'm sitting right now, to me it looks like the Knicks didn't get back equal value in this deal. I still believe Barrett can be star in this league. He's still only 23. Call me a cockeyed optimist, but a 23-year-old who puts up the kind of numbers he does I feel has a tremendous upside. Quickley may be a 2 guard in a point guard's body, but he's got a great outside shot.
Having said all that, the Knicks have played 4 games since the deal and have won all 4, including a win over the Western Conference best Minnesota Timberwolves, and a blowout on Friday night against the Sixers in Philly. So, maybe you can't go by me. Hopefully it keeps up but stay tuned.
In other basketball news, I had read earlier this week that Grambling State women's basketball team had beaten it's opponent by 141 (count'em) 141 points. My first thought was that I knew what Phil Mushnicks Friday Post column was going to be about. The second thing was that I noticed the team Grambling State blew off the court was The College of Biblical Studies. My Post instincts kicked in and thought, The College of Biblical Studies suffered a blowout of biblical proportions, (this is what happens when some of your favorite people at work are headline writers and lede creators)
Grambling State may live to regret running it up on The College of Biblical Studies. What these ladies lack in basketball skills they may make up for with some tips and tricks from the Big Guy upstairs. There might be a few trick plays in the Good Book.
Ok I think we maxed out the jokes there, let's move on.
BASEBALL: Dollar Store Shopping
Late on Thursday night December 21, the Dodgers came to an agreement with Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12 year 325 million deal. This was on the heels of LA signing Shohei Ohtani to a $700 million contract, most of which they won't have to pay till the mid 21st Century.
I wasn't broken up about the Mets not getting Ohtani, as great as he is. My gut is telling me that even with the deferred money, the Dodgers won't get the value they think they are going to get for what they paid. He could be a great hitter for a number of years, but he's already starting to have arm issues. (He won't pitch till 2025-at least) and I've seen too many guys have these issues and not come back to what they were. If the Dodgers were shelling out 70 mil per for a two-way player, they may not get what they paid for.
Yamamoto though, that one hurt.
The Mets need an ace. They have a solid number 2 in Kodai Senga and if he can stay healthy, a good number 3 in Jose Quintana. Beyond that, their rotation is a bunch of question marks. I don't have much faith in Luis Severino or Adrian Houser or the rest of the guys we have.
I'm not saying Steve Cohen and David Stearns aren't trying, I know Cohen went all out for Yamamoto and if Yamamoto had his heart set on the Dodgers and just used the Mets to drive up his price, well, I'm between I'm somewhere between I don't blame him and he can go f himself.
But the bigger point is that so far most of the acquisitions we've made are of the bargain basement variety. The kind of guys we used to pick up in the early Sandy Alderson days, just to put out a roster for the season while the Wilpons dug out of their mess with Bernie Madoff.
Look, I like Harrison Bader, I think he can provide a spark and play some solid defense, but also he comes with the same modifier as almost every other guy we've gotten so far if he stays healthy. There are too may guys coming to spring training with that type of question mark surrounding them.
I know we still have a few weeks to go before Spring training and there is still time to improve the roster, but I don't really see them making any big time moves. And this roster as presently constituted isn't going to compete with anyone for a playoff spot.
OBITUARIES:
I just saw that Cindy Morgan passed away on Saturday. For us Caddyshack fans, she played Lacey Underall, the niece of Judge Smails (Ted Knight) and love interest of both Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) and Danny Noonan (Michael O'Keefe). I'm having a hard time believing she was going to turn 70 this September, but Caddyshack is 44 years old this year.
As I've written here before, I listen to old American Top 40 shows on Sirius/XM, specifically the 70's channel. A few years ago, I was listening to a show from April 1977, and Casey Kasem was talking about a study that had just been released by some religious watchdog group. The study ranked all the shows that were currently on TV at that time and ranked them in terms of violence. Number one on the list of violent TV shows in 1977 was Starsky and Hutch.
Casey wondered aloud how someone who played a cop who got into all those car chases and shootouts could also write and record "one of the most tender and heartfelt love songs on the radio today." He was referring to David Soul, who played Detective Ken (Hutch) Hutchinson on the ultra-violent (for 1977 anyway) aforementioned Starsky and Hutch, and who topped the Billboard Hot 100 on April 16, 1977 with Don't Give Up on Us.
In the 2004 spoof of Starsky and Hutch starring Ben Stiller as Starsky and Owen Wilson as Hutch, there was a hilarious scene where Hutch distracts two lovely women in their house by grabbing a guitar and singing Don't Give Up on Us while Starsky searches the house.
The charts are dotted through the years with TV actors who have cracked the Top-40. Don Johnson's Heartbeat, Bruce Willis' Respect Yourself, and though he was a movie star by the time Party all the Time hit the airwaves, Eddie Murphy all come to mind. I know there are others. It may not be your cup of tea, but David Soul's Don't Give Up on Us, made it all the way to number 1. He died at age 80 on Thursday.
I also saw that Glynis Johns, the actress who played Jane and Michael Banks mother in Mary Poppins died last week at age 100. My sister Katie watched Mary Poppins on a daily basis back in the mid 80's and just now I couldn't type Jane and Michael Banks without first singing "Hurry Nanny, Many Thanks,
Sincerely,
Jane and Michael
Banks."
Julie Andrews (88), amazingly Dick Van Dyke (98-and going to the gym almost every day), and Karen Dotrice who played Jane Banks (68) are still alive. The actor who played Michael, Matthew Garber tragically died of pancreatitis at age 21 in 1977.
And if you can, please take a minute or two to say a prayer or a good thought for my soul sis, Patti-Ann, whose dad passed away over the weekend. Thank you.
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- 2004 was now 20 years ago. Two of my dear friends lost their dads that year, and two families that I've known forever lost their grandmothers. I always keep them in mind when I speak of 2004, because I don't want to forget them when I write about that year. For me 2004 was a year where I had several positive life altering things happen to me. As those anniversaries approach, I hope to write about them here. And I hope you enjoy reading about them.
- Also, the Raucous Iowa Caucus is a week from Monday. I may write a preview of it here next week. Then again I may not. We'll see.
- Thank you all for reading my Christmas Eve Special 2 weeks ago. Not sure it was one of my better ones, but considering I was looking at a blank screen after the music section, it turned out pretty all right.
- Next week, we’ll recap the Jets and Giants lost seasons. Both managed to win their last games. Not sure how much of a crap I care about the NFL Playoffs.
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