Weekly Mail July 28, 2024

 

Hi Everyone:

Last week I celebrated a big birthday for one of my most long time dearest friends. Her husband and two sons planned a perfect party at our favorite Woodside establishment, Donovan’s. Got to catch up with some great people I hadn’t seen in a while. The drinks, the laughs and mostly the love and friendship flowed freely. An amazing time.

But now, as I sit here preparing to write this, I'm kind of waiting for another shoe to drop. 

I had gotten through 3/4 of my July 14 WM when the attempted assassination of Donald Trump happened in Pennsylvania. 

Then last week, I was all set to send out what I had written the week before, when President Biden announced on Sunday afternoon that he was dropping out of the race. 

I have on occasion spoken to family members and friends who were alive in 1968 to ask them what it was like living in that unbelievable year. I've read several books, watched a few documentaries and spent more time on the interwebs than I care to admit about 1968. (The textbook from a class I took in college had an entire chapter devoted to 1968, but the professor spent the entire class where that chapter was assigned talking about how Queens College had protests that rivaled the ones taking place at Columbia around the same time. Needless to say, I found that claim to be dubious at best). 

Two major political figures assassinated, including the candidate well on his way to clinching the Democratic nomination for President. The incumbent President announcing he would not seek re-election. A divided nation. And oh, by the way, the Democratic National convention taking place in Chicago in August. 

Our folks had 1968. We have 2024*. 

Now, thankfully Trump survived the attempt on his life, and Biden's announcement wasn't nearly the shock that Lyndon Johnson's announcement brought when he made it on March 31, 1968. And hopefully the DNC in Chicago won't be as chaotic this time around as was the one 56 years ago, but we are living in some strange times. I can only hope that when our kids ask us about 2024, we are looking back on it as some sort of aberration. My fear is that it's going to be thought of as standard procedure. That for our kids, it will be all that they know. 

As far as my reaction Biden's decision, well, obviously I have a lot of mixed emotions about it. I had been on the side of wanting him to stay in, while understanding the concerns of those who thought he should drop out. I also felt in my heart that when all was said and done, he would do what he thought was best for the country. 

And he did. 

Too many Democrats were coming out and saying he needed to step aside. For a man who preaches unity and togetherness, he couldn't go into his party's convention with a divided party. 

I'm not going to lie, I'm not really sure how Vice President Kamala Harris was able to get the delegates who were pledged for Biden to pledge to her. I say all the time I will figure out the meaning of life before I figure out how the delegate process in our country works. From what I have gathered, since nobody else besides Harris announced their intention to seek the nomination, the delegates didn't really have any other recourse. Had someone else decided to throw their proverbial hats in the ring, the vote would have taken place at the DNC. And that might have led to what we discussed in the previous paragraphs. 

I'll probably write more about him as his administration winds down, but my respect for Joe Biden has only grown this past week. The fact that Captain Orange and his pea-brained minions are still taking shots at him just re-enforces my admiration for the man. Biden has overcome so much in his life. Some of you think I'm full of it and quite frankly I don't give a f-ck. You're voting for the guy who was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple.  

The enthusiasm and support that Kamala Harris has received this week has been amazing if somewhat surprising. The party has clearly rallied around her. 

Fasten your seatbelts. 

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This past Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of one of the most exciting days I have ever had. 

On July 24, 2004, I was en-route to Boston with a rental car full of office equipment. The lady who had hired me at the Post Annie Aquilina had offered me a chance to come help set up and manage the Post's satellite office at the 2004 DNC. The following is an excerpt from the July 17, 2016 edition of WM in describing that crazy day...

July 24,2004

So, I'm on my way to Boston, in a nice fancy rent a car, with thousands of dollars of office equipment in the trunk and back seat. I had left Woodside early, after having worked all night. I'm just getting into Boston when my phone rang. It was the Post. The editor, the great Bill Gorta, told me to "ditch the car wherever you are and get to Fenway Park. There was just a huge brawl between the Yanks and the Sox.

I turned the radio on and caught the tail end of what was going on. Something had gone down between Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Boston catcher Jason Varitek.

Now the only other time I've been to Boston was 12 years before, with Karl, Ray and Kevin (Buck) Ludwig. I have no idea how to get anywhere, and I certainly wasn't going to be responsible for losing all this office equipment. So I told Billy I was still a bit away. Luckily I found the hotel, checked in and hopped on the subway and headed to Fenway.

I went to the Cask 'n Flagon (big mistake) where I interviewed Yankee fans who had been tossed out of Fenway.  Then I went outside one of the gates and interviewed more fans as they were being thrown out. To me, that was the big story. Everyone I asked about the fight had the same answers, "I was f-ckin PUMPED MAN!" I mean how many times can you quote that?

But droves of fans were coming out, bitching that they had been ejected from the stadium. For seemingly innocuous reasons. Now I realize that some of these folks probably deserved to get thrown out, but some I really believe were booted out for nothing more than wearing Yankee paraphernalia. The Boston people freaked out because I was with the NY Post, but I was able to convince some of them that I was a Met fan and my team was 10 games out with no shot at the playoffs, so theoretically I had no dog in this fight. One group of Sawx fans invited me to their house for a BBQ, which was awfully nice of them, and in hindsight might have been a good move.

   And then there was the a$$hole hot dog vendor who kept telling me to stay away from his cart. I finally said to him, "I'm nowhere near your cart. What the f-ck is your problem besides the fact that I'm from New York?"
"I don't give a $h-t if your from New York, I just hate the press. They've burned me before!"
"You're a hot dog vendor! Why would the press care about you, much less burn you?"
He was threatening to get the cops, and judging by what went down between Varitek and A-Rod, I had no desire to mess with them, so I moved a bit further down.

The game itself was a classic Yankees-Sox affair. The Yanks struck first in the top of the second and added one in the third before Bronson Arroyo drilled A-Rod with a fastball in the elbow. A-Rod started mouthing off to Arroyo. Varitek said something to A-Rod, A-Rod got in Varitek's face, and Varitek shoved his glove in A-Rod's face and both benches emptied.

When the smoke cleared A-Rod and Varitek was ejected. The Sox tied it up, then took the lead. In the 6th, the Yanks scored 6 times, the Sox 4 times and the score was 9-8 Yanks. At the time I had no idea what the score was because I was interviewing ejected fans and fighting with a hot dog man with delusions of grandeur.

In the bottom of the 9th, with the Yanks up 10-8 and Mariano in to close it out, Bill Mueller hit a walk off home run, sending Fenway into a frenzy. I spoke to about 20 people and probably could have gotten a whole bunch more. I dumped my notes to the editors and headed out to get some dinner and maybe a beer or two.

I overheard some gal on the train say she was headed to Daisy Buchanan's so that's where I went. Wouldn't you know who would walk in about 10 o'clock but Jason Varitek himself? Every few minutes the bartender would open a beer in front of him and someone would yell "Yo, Tek, that's on me man!" Yo Tek, way to kick A-Rod's ass!" I thought about going over to talk to him, but I figured in this crowd, I best be keeping my credentials on the down-low. After all I was here for the convention.

Here is the story as it appeared in the next day's paper....

Author:	BILL GALLAGHER Post Correspondent
Date:	Jul 25, 2004
Start Page:	003

BOSTON - Now it's personal.

An A-Rod bean ball once again turned the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry bloody yesterday, setting up a series finale tonight sure to be filled with fireworks.

The third-inning melee, which seemed a distant memory after Boston's 11-9 win on a walk-off home run, lasted only five minutes, but led to two ejections and a pitcher beaten until blood poured from his face.

The stands also began buzzing, with dozens of fights and a slew of ejections. Yankee fans were showered with beer as they dejectedly made their way toward the doors after the loss.

"This was a classic Red Sox-Yankees game," said Tom Magnifico, 19, a Yankee fan who drove up from East Rutherford, N.J.

"After the fight, the mood changed. It was a little more hostile and more passionate."

The brawl began when Boston hurler Bronson Arroyo tattooed Alex Rodriguez in the elbow with the Bombers leading, 3-0. A-Rod chucked his bat and began shouting at the pitcher.

The home plate umpire and Sox catcher Jason Varitek jumped in the middle, and after harsh words were exchanged, the catcher gave a two- handed shove to A-Rod's face. He responded by grabbing Varitek.

In an instant, the benches had erupted, with players and coaches joining the fray. A-Rod and Varitek were booted. The teams square off tonight at 8

The rest of the week was fun too. Greg Birnbaum the Post's political editor gave me his press pass so that I could walk around the Convention floor on the odd chance he needed me to do anything there. I mostly tried to see how many tv networks I could get my face on, and imagined myself playing against the Bruins and the Celtics. (The hockey boards were still up.) I also went out drinking with some interns from the Weekly Standard, and met a guy at the Clask and Flagon who was a cross between the Boston  Globe's Bob Ryan and my late great Donovan's pal Pete McGuiness. 

20 years later it was the most fun I ever had while working. A life lasting memory. 

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

SPORTS: Mets sweep Subway Series..

I went into last week's two game set with the Yankees in the Bronx just kind of hoping for a split. Having won the two games played at Citi Field, one win at the Stadium would ensure that the Mets would have won the series and for what it's worth, some bragging rights.

I figured the game on Tuesday would be the one we'd have the best shot at winning. Luis Gil had looked like a Cy Young candidate when the Yanks were dominating in the first two months of the season, but has crashed down to earth as of late. I like our chances against him more than against Gerritt Cole, who I figured would be out to avenge his poor start in Queens.

Gil actually pitched all right. 1 run and 6 strikeouts over 5 innings, but Jose Quintana matched him after giving up a leadoff homer to Gleyber Torres. And the Mets bullpen, who had been awful for most of the season came up big, especially Jake Diekman, who I had wanted to send packing more than a couple of times. Diekman got the save, including striking out Aaron Judge. 

Cole was the starter on Wednesday, and he looked like his Cy Young self for the first couple of innings. When Juan Soto robbed Jeff McNeil of a homer, I thought it wasn't going to be our night.

But the Mets ended up hitting 3 more homers off of Cole and scored 12 runs overall to win it 12-3 and complete the season series sweep. So no matter what happens from here on in, I can hang my blue and orange hat on that. 

On Saturday the Yanks made a trade with the Marlins for Jazz Chisholm Jr. and all I have to say about that is that now I'm really sorry John Sterling packed it in when he did. First I'd love to know how he would call Chisholm's home runs. But also keeping track of how many times the voice of the Yankees inverted the first two letters of Jazz's first and last names. Boomer and Gio had a whole compilation of how many times Sterling called him Chas Jiz.. well, you know the rest. 

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

I didn’t watch any of the Opening Ceremonies at the Paris Olympics on Friday. Apparently there was some controversy about a depiction of the Last Supper. Maybe I should be upset about it, but I don’t know. There are about a million things going on here in America that concern me more.  

That’s just me though.

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

I'm not going to be in the city for the next two weekends. I'd like to get at least two more blogs posted in the next three weeks before we take our late summer hiatus after August 18. The other caveat to that of course is that the DNC is starting August 19, and if Chicago 2024 turns into Chicago 1968, I may have to keep the presses rolling as it were. We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. 

For now

Stay Safe

and Have a Great Week. 

*The calendar for 2024 also lines up exactly as 1968 did. Complete with a Thursday February 29 Leap Day and Election Day on November 5. 

Weekly Mail Special Report

 

I was halfway through my regular edition of Weekly Mail when I saw everyone gathering near the TV that had been showing the Trump rally in Butler, PA. The frightening images of the former President falling down under the podium after shots were fired at him is something you hope never happens, but in this political climate, unfortunately seemed inevitable. 

I can't stand Donald Trump. I hate what he has wrought upon this nation. That hasn't changed. It wouldn't have changed even if the attempt on his life would have been successful. 

But this cannot happen. To any public official. regardless of party. Regardless of anything. 

If they can get to Donald Trump, they can get to Joe Biden. Or Kamala Harris. Or Mike Johnson. 

So many of Trump's supporters had clung to the nonsensical belief that Biden stole the 2020 election. Fueled by that lie, they stormed the Capitol, screaming Hang Mike Pence, and looking to kill Nancy Pelosi. 

It wasn't right on January 6, 2021 

It wasn't right on July 13, 2024

And unless we all decide to turn down the fucking temperature here, one of our leaders are going to get killed. 

You want to call me a hypocrite because I come on here and call some of these people I don't agree with names? Be my guest. To be honest, I did it again this week, on the post I was working on before the shooting. 

I'm not the issue here. Neither are those of you who I see on my social media praising Trump and attacking Biden. You disagree with me, and I disagree with you. And yes, it gets ugly sometimes.

But this has to start from the top. 

Donald Trump can come out whenever he is back on his feet and brag that he was shot at and survived. He can blame Biden or the media or whoever his perceived enemies are.  As he was being carried off by the Secret Service he was yelling "Fight, fight". And his supporters will definitely take him up on that. Of that we have no doubt. Already there have been more than a few duly elected sitting members of Congress who have directly blamed President Biden for this. It's pieces of shit like that who are going to end up getting someone killed. 

Or, he can cease with the name calling, hate mongering and lies. He can come out and say that he will focus on the issues. He can talk about how we all have different ideas, but that we all want what is best for America. He can get back to the debate strictly on policy. Things where healthy debate can carry the day. President Biden came on TV tonight and said just that. Ballots not bullets.

Trump should do the same thing. 

Right now, we know that the creep who shot at Trump was a 20 year old male. His name is out there, but I won't print it here. Like those who shoot up schools and movie theaters and churches, they deserve no recognition. 

A bullet that grazed his ear means that another inch or so and it's in his brain. And we are having a whole other discussion here. We are already discussing the possibility of replacing the presumed Democratic nominee. Another inch or so with that bullet, and we're nominating a new Republican candidate as well. 

It was that close. 

I still think he's a criminal. I still think he'd tried to overturn an election. I still believe he caused the terrorist attack on January 6th 2021, or at the very least did nothing to stop it. I still believe he puts himself and his interests over the country. 

I don't think he should the President.

But I'm sorry that he was shot at. 

I thank God he's not dead. 

This 

cannot 

happen.

Weekly Mail July 7, 2024

                                        8:46 PM June 27
 

Hey There:

I'm sorry I didn't publish last week. I had taken the night off from the city but had so much to say that I started to write. I just couldn't finish, with things changing rapidly and also, just not having the time or the patience sit at the home computer. So, we have two weeks of things to discuss. 

Last Monday was July 1st, which means 2024 for better or worse, is halfway done. As the years go on, it seems to go by faster and faster. I hope that for all of you that 2024 has brought you more joy than sorrow, more happiness than pain. That really is my wish for everybody, me included.

And I hope you all had a Happy 4th of July. 

With that being said, we'll start with what my co-editor Karl (the Ace) Ludwig aptly described as a train wreck two Thursday nights ago. 

POLITICS: The Debate Disaster

As I came home from work on June 27, I went back and forth over whether or not I would tune into the CNN Presidential Debate. For starters, having a debate before the two candidates had even been formally nominated at their respective conventions didn't seem like a good idea to me. I guess the conventional (no pun intended) wisdom was that since both Joe Biden and Captain Orange have been President, and that both have collected the required delegates that it really didn't matter that neither had accepted their nominations. About the only mystery left for lack of a better term, is who Orange is going to have as his running mate. 

But more than that, I mean, at this point I'm not sure what we can gain from having these debates. 

And I'm sure any of my MAGA friends read that last line and said, "Yeah that's because your guy got his a$$ handed to him the other night." We'll address that in a second, but really my question is what are we looking for here? 

In the past what I would look for in a debate was how each candidate would describe how they would handle a situation, or a policy. Of course, you had an idea because as I said previous, even if you hadn't watched any stump speeches, you had probably seen the convention speeches, so you know where they stood. A debate would have each candidate explain their position while also saying why the other candidate's position was wrong for the country. Of course, there would be a certain amount of spin by both candidates, but you had to believe that they were both (or in some cases all 3) being somewhat honest. 

But now you have the 45th President facing off with the 46th. More than ever, we know where each of them stands, and we know what both of their visions are. 

Which is why as much as it pained me to see Biden trip over his words, misspeak, and lose his train of thought, I can't sit here and say Trump won this debate decisively. The man did nothing but lie and make shit up for an hour and a half. And I knew that was exactly what he was going to do, because that's all he ever does. That, and insult people. 

About the only thing Trump said that was correct was that Biden's son was a convicted felon. The fact that Hunter Biden is 1) not running for President and 2) not going to be a part of his father's administration was immaterial. Trump just brought it up just to deflect from the fact that HE himself is a convicted felon.

Amongst the lies Orange tried to peddle:

1) That 1/6 was a "small number of people that went to the Capitol and in many cases were ushered in by the police.” 

2) That "During my four years, I had the best environmental numbers ever." 

I mean I don't even think there are MAGA people who are buying that. 

3) That some states "will take the life of a child in the eighth month, the ninth month, and even after birth, after birth.” 

Infanticide is outlawed in every state.  

Also per the AP:..

TRUMP: We had the greatest economy in history.”

THE FACTS: That’s not accurate. First of all, the pandemic triggered a massive recession during his presidency. The government borrowed $3.1 trillion in 2020 to stabilize the economy. Trump had the ignominy of leaving the White House with fewer jobs than when he entered.

But even if you take out issues caused by the pandemic, economic growth averaged 2.67% during Trump’s first three years. That’s pretty solid. But it’s nowhere near the 4% averaged during Bill Clinton’s two terms from 1993 to 2001, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In fact, growth has been stronger so far under Biden than under Trump.

Trump did have the unemployment rate get as low as 3.5% before the pandemic. But again, the labor force participation rate for people 25 to 54 — the core of the U.S. working population — was higher under Clinton. The participation rate has also been higher under Biden than Trump.

Trump also likes to talk about how low inflation was under him. Gasoline fell as low as $1.77 a gallon. But, of course, that price dip happened during pandemic lockdowns when few people were driving. The low prices were due to a global health crisis, not Trump’s policies.

I had to go into work during the pandemic. I'll admit gas was dirt cheap at that time. I also got to work in 10 minutes when it usually took me 20-25 minutes. Trust me, that wasn't worth seeing co-workers, and friend's parents die. Also not worth knowing that my wife was wearing a garbage bag at work. 

5) At one point he said that Charlottesville was "debunked" 

What? 

I had to laugh every time he said that Biden was the worst President in history and that the world was laughing at us now. 1 million Americans died because of a virus that Trump did nothing to stop, even ignoring a plan that was put in place by the Obama administration for just such an eventuality. 

What's more, there was literally a video of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emanuel Macron mocking Trump at Buckingham Palace in 2019. They were laughing at us then. Not now. 

And when I consider how much Trump was the worst President ever, at least in my lifetime if not in US History, I think of the picture of Ron Turcotte looking over his shoulder as he was riding Secretariat across the finish line at the 1973 Belmont Stakes. The horse in 2nd place was 31 lengths behind. 

Of course, in the week and a half between the debate and now, the $64,000 question has become is Joe Biden capable of carrying out the duties of the office, or should he step aside and allow, as George Steinbrenner used to say, the young elephants (or in this case donkeys) into the tent. 

People whose opinions I highly respect have taken either side of this coin. I'm not listening to the Trump supporters who want Biden out of the race here because as I've said before, they had a chance to replace Trump with 51-year-old Nikki Haley, or 62-year-old Chris Christie, or even 46-year-old Ron DeSantis (who policy wise probably wouldn't have been any better than Captain Orange) but instead insisted on 78-year-old wannabe dictator. Thanks, but no thanks.

No, I'm talking about folks who are committed to vote blue in November but now are concerned about President Biden's ability to run the country. There are some who were alarmed by what they saw at the debate and that and his advanced age are reason enough for him to step aside. Others believe his story that he was tired from travel and was suffering from a cold. 

I have gone back and forth myself these past two weeks. 

I don't care how good of shape you are in, if you are north of 80 years old, you start to lose a step. It happens to almost everyone.* 

I know there are age discrimination laws in this country. I believe that anyone who is capable and healthy enough and wants to work should be able to. (I even more believe that folks who worked their whole life and want to enjoy retirement should be able to as well, and probably won't if Project 2025 comes along. . but I digress) 

I understand the concern about President Biden. And having said that, I want him to stay in the race. 

I trust the man. I trust that if he feels he can't handle the job physically, he will step aside. If he feels like he can stay in the race, I trust that he can. 

I used to believe that even politicians I didn't necessarily agree with, still put the country ahead of themselves. Of the two men running now, I believe Joe Biden is the only one who still does this. Captain Orange does not. He never has, he never will. 

And now CO wants to have another "No Holds Barred" debate. If I'm Biden I'd agree to that  on the condition that Andy Sipowicz is one of the debate moderators. That might keep Trump from lying. 

Beep Beep

I'll discuss the Supreme Court Immunity decision next week. 

BASEBALL: The Subway Series (Part I)

Was obviously very happy that my Mets were able to win both games at Citi Field. I'm also smart enough to know that the four homers that were hit off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole were an aberration, that obviously wasn't Gerrit Cole at nearly full strength. Like Edwin Diaz, Cole is coming off an injury and is just rounding into form. A couple more starts under his belt, and he will be fine, I'm sure. 

The second game with a big win off of Luis Gil was more impressive, as Gil has been a find for the Yanks, a big reason why they have been able to thrive while Cole was on the shelf. He's come back to earth a bit as of late, but still, if he can get back to close to how he was in the beginning of the season, they'll have a staff to be reckoned with.

And let's be honest, I am over the moon that the Mets turned it around. When the Rangers got bounced from the playoffs, I figured that was the end of any meaningful sporting events for a while. I even started watching a few streaming shows. But whether it's because of Grimace, or Jose Iglesias and his music, or maybe they just all decided it might be time to start hitting, the team has been much better of late (their series loss to the Astros notwithstanding) and also more fun to watch. 

And part of what makes them fun to watch is their broadcasting team of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling. Even when the team is awful (which happens a lot more than it should) they are always entertaining. And they can entertain and not take away from the original task at hand which is to broadcast the game. 

I don't watch enough of the Yankees team on YES to give a thorough analysis, but I will say that I'll always give props to David Cone, one of my favorite athletes of all time, I mean who is more New York than David Cone?  John Flaherty is an excellent analyst and Paul O'Neill is good too (though I'm still licking my wounds from those late 90's dynasty teams) 

But Michael Kay annoys the $h-t out of me. I could be wrong on this, but I just find him very arrogant, and self serving. Not to mentioned very thin skinned. He was pissed off last week because SNY ran an add that called GKR the best booth in town. The add apparently aired on YES during Kay's simulcasted radio show. 

"It takes a lot of hubris for SNY to run that ad,” Kay told the Athletic.. “For them just to come out and say, ‘Go listen to the best booth in baseball,’ advertising it on my show, I thought was a little odd, so I thought I’d poke fun at it. I think it’s subjective. I think that they’re a terrific booth. I really do. Yeah, I think they’re great. And I think that we’re a terrific booth.

I'm not going to mock Kay here for sticking up for him and his team, but there have been other times I've listened to his show or read quotes of his in the papers where he acts as if he poops chocolate ice cream or even more obnoxiously, acts like he was right there with Cone and O'Neill winning those 4 titles in 5 years.  I can tell you for a fact that Cohen knows his place amongst the two 1986 Mets legends he works with. 

And to be clear, this isn't a Met fan woofing on the Yankees. I love Cone, respect Flaherty and O'Neill, and consider Suzyn Waldman a legend and a broadcasting pioneer. I know John Sterling wasn't everybody's cup of tea, but I got a kick out of his home run calls. 

It's just Michael Kay. He's got an attitude problem.

BASKETBALL: Big Knicks Trade:

Tim and I were watching the first game of the Subway Series together when a couple of his buddies facetimed him. He figured since they were Yankee fans and the Yanks were making a gallant comeback, that they were calling to bust his chops, but they were calling because they heard that the Knicks had traded a bushel of draft picks to the Nets for Mikal Bridges.

The haul for the Nets was four unprotected first round picks, (pretty much every first-round pick in odd years till 2031) a protected first rounder the Knicks got from Milwaukee, and Bojan Bogdanovic, who the Knicks got at the trade deadline from the Pistons, and who got hurt in the playoffs just as he was rediscovering his stroke. 

To me that is a $hitload of draft capital to give up for one player, who while very good, is not what you would call a franchise player. What seems to work in his favor is that he played college ball with Josh Hart, Dante DiVincenzo and most importantly, Jalen Brunson. Together with a hopefully healthy Julius Randle and a hopefully and healthy OG Anunoby (especially since they re-signed OG to a huge contract extension) it is hoped that Bridges is the final piece to a championship puzzle. 

For what they gave up to get him, he better be.

Now, Leon Rose has definitely earned the benefit of the doubt. I didn't like the trade for Anunoby at the time, but there was no question that when he was in the Knicks line-up they were a much better team than they were with RJ Barrett and Imanuel Quickley. OG just has to not get hurt. 

Can't wait to see how this all plays out. 

HOCKEY:  More Ranger aggravation 

After their choke job vs the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Panthers, I had a list of players I wanted to get rid of and a smaller list of guys I would keep. So who was the first player they sent packing? Barclay Goodrow, one of the few who didn't spit the bit in the ECF. They worked out some Fugazzi waiver deal with the Sharks. The move apparently frees up some much-needed cap space, which I can dig, but again, I hate to get rid of someone who actually did what he was supposed to do. 

The other player who it looks like they are trying to move is one from my get rid of him forthwith list, and that is the captain, Jacob Trouba. 

Several reports had a trade between the Rangers and Red Wings for Trouba. The stories weren't clear what would be coming back from Detroit, but the move would clear cap space, even with the Rangers retaining $2.5 million of his salary. 

Now Trouba had a full no trade clause that became a 15 team no trade clause on July 1st. Trouba apparently is resisting a trade mainly because his wife is completing her medical residency here in New York. The Rangers had asked Trouba to provide his 15 teams before July 1st, which he refused to do according to several reports. 

It's hard for me to work up much of a lather over Trouba not wanting to be dealt, even though I still want him gone. I have a soft spot in my heart for anyone who wants to become a doctor. I also have a soft spot for athletes who love playing here. Few things annoy me more than a player who wilted under the spotlight here in NY and went somewhere else and flourished. (I have a bad feeling Zach Wilson may end up in that category) I also respect that athletes have to do right by their families. 

But wherever he plays next year, Jacob Trouba is going to be paid a cool $8 million. And the past two years he hasn't played like someone making that kind of $$$ should be playing. I understand and respect the fact that he has the right to not be traded. Doesn't mean I have to like it. I can and will still hope the Rangers can figure out a way to move him elsewhere. 

We will publish next week. Then on July 21st we'll have a special. Then we'll figure out how we'll wrap up for the summer. I usually shut WM down the last 2 weeks of August and the first two weeks of September, but we may have weigh in depending on what happens during this 2024 campaign. 

In the meantime, stay cool

Stay Safe 

and Have a Great Week 

*There are some exceptions. Mick Jagger, Paul Mccartney and Mel Brooks come to mind. Before she died at 99, Betty White as well