Hey Everyone:
So I haven't written in a couple of weeks. One week was pure writer's block. I was writing about a couple things and to be honest I was bored while writing it, so I figured you would be bored reading it.
Last week was I was away and started to write an on-location blog, but never got around to finishing it. I will finish that one up and post it.
There's good news and bad news and we'll start with the bad news.
HURRICANES HELENE AND MILTON:
I know I probably shouldn't do this because it comes off as if I'm making light of it, but I refer to the season's big storm as the "annual Storm of the Century." My point is that almost every year since at least Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, we have had a storm somewhere in this country that the experts say that particular region hasn't seen "in over 100 years."
It's happened twice in a couple of weeks in 2024.
Tropicana Field in Tampa, Florida
Hurricane Helene laid the city of Ashville, NC to waste a couple of weeks ago. And then this past week, Hurricane Milton buried a large swath of Florida underwater.
Tara, Tim and I were in Disney World last week (details to come in a separate post) and we were watching the local newscast's weather report. They were bracing for Milton after having been spared the brunt of Helene.
The pictures we've seen the last few days have been heartbreaking. The roof of Tampa's Tropicana Field home of the Rays was partially torn off. As of this writing, the storm claimed 14 lives and has left 2 million Florida residents without power.
And of course because this is an election year, the bull$h-t is at an all-time high.
All over social media and even in some mainstream news sources, people were breathlessly reporting that people who have lost everything in these storms were only receiving a measly $750.00 one-time payout for all of their losses. FEMA has gone through great lengths to explain this.
Here it is straight from the website....
This is a type of assistance that you may be approved for soon after you apply, called Serious Needs Assistance. It is an upfront, flexible payment to help cover essential items like food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies, medication and other emergency supplies. It is NOT a loan. There are other forms of assistance that you may qualify for to receive and Serious Needs Assistance is an initial payment you may receive while FEMA assesses your eligibility for additional funds. As your application continues to be reviewed, you may still receive additional forms of assistance for other needs such as support for temporary housing, personal property and home repair costs. If you have questions about your disaster assistance application and what you qualify for, contact us at 1-800-621-3362 to speak with a FEMA representative in your language.
Note: FEMA adjusts the maximum amount of financial assistance available to disaster survivors each fiscal year, which began on October 1. The new maximum for the initial Serious Needs assistance is now $770. These maximums apply to any disasters declared on or after October 1, 2024.
Now you want to quibble about the amount, I suppose you could, but the idea that there's this huge pot of FEMA money that is being split between illegal migrants and President Zelenskiy in Ukraine is laughable. But that's the narrative that Captain Orange has been peddling in the wake of both these storms. And his lackeys are spreading the lies as fast as they can.
I mean, the info I posted above is right off FEMA’s website, in a link dedicated to addressing rumors.
The claims have become so widespread that FEMA set up a response page to debunk many falsehoods around how disaster funding works and what the agency’s response has been.
With all the work FEMA has to do, that they had to set something like this up because the republican presidential candidate is spreading falsehoods? This is the new normal? .
BTW-speaking of falsehoods, I read somewhere on Facebook that CO donated $25 million of his own $$$ to disaster relief. There's a better chance of Carlos Mendoza handing me the ball to start Game 1 of the NLCS in Los Angeles than there is of Trump donating one penny of his own money for anything.
Anyway, to those in the affected areas, I hate to offer T's and P's, but I can tell you this: I've been in that situation and though it doesn't seem like it sometimes, people are still generally good. Don't give up hope, you can and you will get through this.
POLITICS- Mayor Adams indicted.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on a slew of charges including...
- Bribery
- Solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national
- Wire fraud
- Conspiracy to defraud the United States (Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals)
There has been corruption at City Hall since the dawn of time, but believe it or not, this is the first time a sitting mayor has ever been indicted.
We all know that you are innocent util proven guilty around these parts, and that indictments aren't convictions, but it's hard to look at what Adams has been charged with and believe that it's all a big misunderstanding. It's probably time for him to step aside. Several members of his administration have already tended their resignations. It's an absolute $hit$how.
Of course, some of the people who were most giddy to see Adams get busted can't wait to go to the polls on November 5th and elect a guy who was actually convicted of a crime to the White House. If you fall into that category, congratulations, you are a hypocrite.
OK, let's get to the good stuff. Yes, there is good news around here, believe it or not..
YANKS, METS make it to the LCS!!!
We'll start with the Yanks: There was a time, back before I really got into baseball, that the Yankees and the Royals had a rivalry that was everything the Yanks and Red Sox have and a whole lot more.
Indeed in a 5 year period between 1976 and 1980, the Bronx Bombers and Kansas City met in the ALCS 4 times. The exception was 1979, when the Orioles beat the Angels in 4 games. The Yanks sent the Royals packing in 76, 77 and 78, and the Royals returned the favor in 1980.
The Yanks took Game 1 on Saturday night at the Stadium before dropping Game 2 on Monday. On the radio Tuesday all the chatter was about Carlos Rondon excessive celebrating. I didn't think that had anything to do with the results, and it didn't. The Yanks went to a raucous Kauffman Stadium in KC and sent the Royals packing. This, despite Aaron Judge going 2-13 with 0 homers or ribbies. (He did score two runs in the series and his second hit was a double he ripped in Game 4) I know the Yanks fans frustration- I felt it watching Artemi Panarin, Chris Krieder and Mika Zibanejad disappear against the Panthers in last season's ECF- but I think he's going to have a great LCS. That double hopefully got him off the skids. fortunately, Giancarlo Stanton a) didn't get hurt and b) got some bigly timely hits.
The Yanks will play the Indi- I mean the Guardians for the AL Pennant starting Monday night in da Bronx.
Now to my Mets... There are two things I feel like always come back and bite baseball teams in the behind: Leaving guys on base, and relief pitchers that walk hitters. Anytime the Mets do that, they usually end up losing
Usually.
On Wednesday evening against the Phillies, they left the bases loaded in both the first and second innings with nothing to show for it. When the Phillies got on the board first in the top of the fourth, that little bit of doubt began to creep in.
The Mets loaded the bases once again in the bottom of the sixth with no one out. Francisco Alvarez grounded into what could have been a kick ion the groin double play, but the Phils went for the out at the plate. Bases still juiced, but now one out, and a ground ball could once again gives another three men L.O.B with nothing to show for it.
Enter Francisco Lindor.
The $341 million man stepped up and with one swing of the bat, erased the Phillies one run lead, and the frustration that was not being able to scratch home even a run with the bags full in the first two innings. A grand slam that gave us a three run cushion,. Which it looked like we were going to need.
Because in the 9th innings, Mendoza brought in Edwin Diaz.
When Diaz got here in 2019, he was a disaster. He was almost as big a bust as was the other guy we got in that ill-fated Brodie Van Wagenen brokered deal, Robinson Cano. Diaz clearly looked like a guy who couldn't handle New York.
In 2020, pitching in spectator free stadiums, he began to find his niche. In 2021 he was even better I know Mariano Rivera dominated over the course of a dozen + seasons, but Edwin Diaz's 2022 was one of the most dominant I have ever seen a closer have, including Mariano. His slider was practically unhittable that year.
He tore up his leg in the 2023 Baseball World Classic and missed the whole season. The Mets may have well not even shown up to play in 2023. I really couldn't believe how much his absence affected them.
Now that he's come back in 2024 it's been a high-wire act. Sometimes he looks like the dominator he was in 2022, most of the time, he seems like the deer in headlights lightweight he was in 2019-20.
You criticize Mendoza at your peril, he's made me look like a fool more than I care to admit this season, but I know I wasn't alone wondering why he couldn't leave David Peterson in there for the 9th on Wednesday. It reminded me of a reliever the Mets had back in the early 90's, one that WFAN's Steve Sommers christened Alejandro "Stomach" Pena. I felt my stomach having Pena as I watched Diaz walk the first two Phillies in the 9th.
I have previously described Diaz as being either spectacular or spectacularly bad, sometimes in the same inning. He promptly struck out Roger Clemens kid, got Brandon Marsh to fly out to center and struck out Kyle Schwarber to deliver us to the NLCS.
As my father always the optimist said "Maybe this will get him on a roll." More likely, I'll need to go out to CVS and stock up on Rolaids.
We get the Dodgers in the NLCS starting Sunday night at Chavez Ravine.
What a week this is going to be.
FOOTBALL: Dysfunctional Village.
Two weeks ago, my sister Kate and Tim were at the Jets-Broncos disaster... a 10-9 loss in a game that was played in 3 straight hours of non-stop rain. Last week, they went over to London and after going down 17-0 to Sam Darnold (FFS) and the Minnesota Vikings, a comeback bid fell short and they lost 23-17.
This prompted Jets owner Woody Johnson to fire head coach Robert Saleh and replace him with DC Jeff Ulbrich, another guy who has never been a head coach in either the pros or college.
Now look, I think Robert Saleh is a nice man and easy to root for. That said, anybody who had a record of 20-36 is probably not long for coaching in the NFL. Can I really get myself worked up over a coach whose record was fast approaching 20 games under.500 getting canned? Not really.
Plus the Jets took so many stupid penalties, even in the two games they managed to win, never mind the three they've lost. The blame for that lies directly at the feet of the coach.
But mid-season coaching changes in the NFL rarely work. I know nothing about Jeff Ulbrich and more importantly, neither does Woody Johnson. This moved just smacked of desperation.
And I've come to the conclusion that Robert Wood Johnson IV is the worst owner of the 9 major teams in the NY area. I still think James Dolan is the worst person to own a team (or teams) in this town, but for sheer cluelessness and incompetence, Woody and Christopher Johnson take the cake. At least Dolan, thin-skinned louse that he is, has enough sense to let the hockey people run the Rangers and the basketball people (finally) run the Knicks.
Hal Steinbrenner for better and for worse is not his father, worse because he seems to tolerate losing, better because his father at his worst was every bit the POS Dolan is and at times even worse. Hal seems to be a gentleman. Steve Cohen got off to a rocky start with the Mets, but the fact that he was willing to eat the contracts of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Robbie Cano shows you what he is willing to do to develop a winner and also a huge reason the Mets are where they are now. John Mara and Steve Tisch have had their share of stumbles the last 10 years, but also presided over a pair of Super Bowl wins. Both men have also built-up goodwill because they are fundamentally decent. Jon Ledecky has helped make the Islanders relevant again and has made himself accessible to the fans. I don't know much about the Devils ownership. The Nets, now that's a franchise that can give the Jets a run for it in the incompetence department, but I think the Jets win this race in a rout.
The Jeff Ulbrich era, such as it is, begins Monday night against the Bills at Met Life Stadium, around the same time Game 2 of the NLCS should be ending and Game 1 of the ALCS starting. Talk about a tale of two cities.
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The Rangers had their home opener against the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday night, the franchise formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes. The fact that they couldn't come up with a suitable team name reminds me of the time Letterman sent Biff Henderson to cover Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston back in 2004 (The Janet Jackson malfunctioning boobs Super Bowl)
Biff: What is the name of the new football team here in Houston?
Houston Sporting Goods Clerk: Um uh the Texans!
Biff: Boy, you guys really busted yo ass to come up with that name.
Not for nothing, but they had all summer to work on this. One of the Post copy editors suggested the Salt Lakers. How about the Utah Utes?
Yeah, maybe they do need some more time for this one.
BASKETBALL: Another Knicks trade.
The Knicks made a huge deal a couple weeks ago, sending Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a draft pick to the Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Questioning Leon Rose is a bit like questioning Carlos Mendoza. So far, almost every move they have made has come up aces.
And Towns has a tremendous upside. He's a big man who can shoot, and since Mitchell Robinson is perpetually injured (they don't think he'll be back till January at the earliest) they did have a need for a legit big man.
But I really wanted to see the Knicks with a healthy Randle playing with OG Anunoby, and DiVincenzo play with fellow Villanova Wildcats Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges. When they were all healthy, they were as much fun to watch as any team in the league.
The question of course is this: Is the team closer to being a title contender today then they were before they made the deal? I'm not sure myself, and I have heard compelling arguments on either side of the coin. It's really going to depend if Karl-Anthony Towns becomes they player in NY that the T-Wolves thought they were getting when they drafted him. If that happens, it could be a steal. If not, it could set the franchise back a few years, which is a shame because, they were really a team on the rise last year. Time as always will tell. For now, I'm a bit skeptical. But you can't go by me. I panned the Anunoby deal.
Ok folks, hope all is well.
Stay Safe
and Have a Great Week
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