Weekly Mail May 25, 2025

 

Hi Folks!

We've made it to the unofficial start of the summer. Crazy how it just seems to sneak up on you isn't it? 

I hope all of you are able to enjoy some of this long weekend. 

CIVIC DUTY: I got called for jury duty this past week. 

The last time I was called was right after Tim was born, almost 17 years ago. I was still living in Manhattan, so it was Manhattan criminal court I went to that time. I had not been called for Nassau County court since I moved to Long Island. 

And when I filled out that questionnaire they send you, I figured I was off to either Mineola or Hempstead. 

Nope.

I got to schlep into Downtown Brooklyn for the eastern district Federal Court. I guess they figured since they left me alone the past 16.5 years, they have me go with the big shots. 

I obviously can't get into what cases were going on when I was there, but I figured you'd all get a chuckle out of this story: They were pretty clear that the first thing they were going to do when you walked into the courthouse was take your phone away. They make you shut it off and they give you a wooden block with a number on it. When you are done for the day, you turn in the block and they give you back your phone.

So that was easy enough, but then you have to go through the metal detectors. They made me take off ,my belt in addition to putting my keys and whatever else metal in the little bin. I walked through the metal detector no problem, but I could feel my pants starting to sink, so I grabbed my belt and went for the closest bathroom to pull myself together. 

I then checked in and sat in the jury waiting room. They called a group to go to a courtroom, then I was in the second group. 

Sometime during my walk to the courtroom I realized I didn't have the block for my phone. DOH!

When we broke for lunch, I went down to the security desk and told them I lost my block. Tbey all looked at me like I was crazy. Then they sent me back to the pool room, for surely I had dropped it up there. I spoke to one of the ladies who helped check in jurors, and she was kind enough to come down to the security desk and get the guards to help me. One of the guards remembered that another court officer had brought over a block and "some change" I said "Was it three quarters?" I had gotten 75 cents back from the egg on a roll I had bought. That was enough for the court officer to match the block with my phone. To prove it was mine, I showed him the Running for Rebecca team picture and my wristband. 

I had been so worried about giving the Eastern District of the US Federal Court system a strip show they didn't want, that I ran away with my belt and left the block and my $0.75 in the bin. 

Embarrassing. The court officer who gave me back my phone said it happens all the time in a tone that suggested that it really doesn't. 

But I do have to say, everyone there was very nice and pleasant. For one day, it was a nice trip to downtown Brooklyn. I'm still on phone standby, but most likely. my civic duty of over for now. 

On my way back to Oceanside, I went outside on Atlantic Avenue and took some pictures of the Barclay's Center. I've yet to see an event there, and the last time I was in that part of Brooklyn, I was just a kid. 

Barclays Center May 19, 2025

POLITICS: Joe Biden Cancer Announcement

I'll keep this one relatively short.

If Joe Biden says he was just recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, I believe he was just recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. All I'm going to do is wish him comfort and a speedy recovery, which even the likes of Captain Orange and dare I say it, that thing representing Georgia's 14th Congressional District took to social media to do this week. 

I'll leave the speculating that he covered this diagnosis up to the tin foil hat wearing dopes who still think Biden lost in 2020. 

And if you took delight in the fact that a politician you don't like received a cancer diagnosis last week, congratulations, you're an a$$hole. 

BASKETBALL: Knicks lose two at home...

Sure I was pissed off at Tyrese Haliburton for making the choke sign after he hit (what he thought) was the game winning shot against the Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night at MSG. 

But even though he had to eat some crow, since his toe was on the line and the shot only counted as a two, he wasn't totally wrong. The Knicks did blow a huge lead, mainly by committing turnovers and missing foul shots, as well as playing lousy defense. yes, yes, I will give the Pacers props for their three point shooting, but make no mistake, the Knicks could have and should have won Game 1. That was as big a choke job as you are going to see.

They also could have won Game 2 on Friday night. That loss at least was more of a loss of a war of attrition than anything else. The Knicks never were able to pull away and neither were the Pacers. 

Tim (amongst others) brought up that the man who originally made the choke sign against the Knicks, Reggie Miller, did so in a series the Knicks eventually won, in 1994. But watching this Game 1 reminded me more of Game 1 of the second round of the 1995 playoffs. 

That was on a Sunday afternoon. For some reason, only my Mom and I were at home that afternoon. And I was getting ready to leave to go to work in Rockaway that evening. That was the day Miller scored 8 points in 9 seconds. 

Just because I'm a glutton for punishment and I needed a refresher course, I YouTube'd up that game from 30 (holy shit) years ago. With 18.7 seconds left, Greg Anthony hit a pair of free throws to put the Knicks up by 6. The Pacers inbounded the ball at half court, got the ball to Miller who spun and hit a three to cut the lead in half. Anthony Mason had all sorts of trouble inbounding underneath the basket, passed it right to Miller who drained another three to tie in up whilst only taking 5.5 seconds off the clock. The Pacers then inexplicably fouled John Starks, who picking up where he left off the previous year's Finals in Houston, missed two foul shots. Patrick Ewing, in a harbinger of things to come, grabbed the rebound and was unable to put it back. Miller was fouled underneath the basket on the Ewing miss and was able to hit the two subsequent foul shots. And the Knicks were unable to get a last shot off. 

I remember I got up and slammed the TV off (our TV was pre-remote control in 1995) and stormed out the house to head to Rockaway. My mom was on the phone with a friend of hers who reported that her husband had just done the same thing to their TV. 

I know the Knicks won three games in that series and had a chance to win Game 7. That day I actually listened to most of the game on the drive down to Rockaway, and watched at Rogers Irish House as Ewing missed that infamous finger roll to lose Game 7. That was another long night at Baskin-Robbins for me. 

And that's what these first two games have felt like. 

Reggie Miller is now calling this series for TNT. Many opf the Knicks who played in that series are in the stands rooting these Knicks on. Pretty much all of the guys playing in this series weren't even born yet in 1995 which of course makes me feel even older than I already do. One series has nothing to do with the other, 

But for those of us who were around, it feels really eerie. I'm hoping upon hope that the Knicks can figure it out, or else I'm going to be writing about this series when I'm 82 years old. 

George Wendt (1948-2025) 

I've heard the term spirit animal bandied about the last few years. 

I don't know if I would call Norm Petersen my spirit animal. But I still get a kick out of walking into Donovan's and hearing “Wild Bill!” as I'm heading over to Pete McGuiness's corner. I miss hearing that as I walked into Shelley's, or “Billy G!” when I used to go to Big City Bar and Grill back in the day. More recently, I like to hit the Pig n Whistle on 48th Street on my way to the Post. As Karl (the Ace) Ludwig told his wife Trish a couple of weeks ago when the regular Saturday bartender was off, "If Natalia (the bartender) was here, Bill would already have his beer." I was there for about 15 seconds at that point.*

George Wendt was a lot more than Norm, the epitome of the bar regular. His acting career spanned movies, TV shows and Broadway. When I visited Ireland/England in 1998, Wendt was starring in a London production called Art, the posters were all over the London underground. 

But no doubt he will be most remembered as Cheers most famous patron. 

His lines upon making his entrance are some of the funniest in TV history. I was watching a bunch of clips the other day as news of his passing was coming out. 

Coach: What's shaking Norm?

Norm: All four cheeks and a couple of chins, Coach

Woody: Would you like a beer Mr. Petersen?

Norm: It's too early Woody.

Woody: For beer?

Norm: No, for stupid questions

Coach: How's life treating you Norm?

Norm: Like it caught me in bed with its wife. 

Woody: What's going on Mr. Petersen?

Norm: Let's talk about what's going in Mr. Petersen. 

This is my favorite opening to Cheers, from it's last season. It's mostly Cliff here, but Norm's part makes it a classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jg0l4zECjw

RIP 

SOME RECORDS WEREN'T MADE TO BE BROKEN

Cy Young's 511 come to mind.

Wilt Chamberlain's 50 ppg average in 1962 is probably safe.

Wayne Gretzky's career assists records also not going anywhere. 

And then there was Only Fans star Annie Knight, who last Sunday did the wild thing with 583 men in her native Australia. 

According to the Post (via news.au)

“I decided to book out a venue and basically open a registration and anyone who registers gets invited. I got about 2,000 registrations, sent them all the address and gave them a timeslot,” she said.

She revealed she engaged in sex acts with 583 people over six hours. No one was turned away, a requirement was that essentially every act required protection. There were even people employed to be in the room specifically to check that protection was being worn.

I'll ask the same question I asked when I wrote about all the dudes who lined up to get it on with Bonnie Blue, "Why would you want to go where 582 guys have just gone before? 

But more importantly, why if your were Annie Knight, want to put your body at risk like that? For her toubles she ended up in the hospital. She told news.au:

“Nurses were concerned I’d ruptured something or had caused damage to my body, so they did a bunch of scans and tests, and thankfully almost everything came back normal,” she said.

“Tests did show I have low iron and progesterone, and eventually concluded that it was my elevated stress levels that exacerbated my endometriosis.

“I was sent home and told to rest and try not to stress.”

Some people have sex to relieve stress. But 583 guys will stress anyone out. 

I'm not sure if she was trying to set a record, I mean is there an Elias Sports Bureau type organization that tracks marathon sex sessions? 

Like I said, some records should stay how they are. 

Finally on this Memorial Day weekend, it's great to relax, have a BBQ, or if the weather holds up, go out and enjoy a day at the beach or park. But as we all know, it's also about remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom..

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them. 

For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon

Please take care

Stay Safe,

and Have a Great Week 

*it was maybe 2 or 3 minutes, but still. 

Weekly Mail May 18, 2025

 

Hi Everyone:

So most important thing first: Once again, thanks to all of you who donated, walked, ran or passed the word around, Running for Rebecca was able to raise $5,750.15 for the American Heart Association. Team Weekly Mail was able to raise a cool $1,162.20, once again surpassing our $1,000.00 goal. 

We did the walk on Thursday afternoon, and it's funny, this seems to happen every year: On the drive into Queens, there was clouds and even a little drizzle, but once we all got to Frank Princpie Park, the clouds went away and the sun came out. She's up there folks, and she's letting us know she appreciates us keeping her memory alive. 

Shout outs to my sisters Krissy and Coach Kate and my brother in law Steve for getting this going again. And of course once again from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you

Here now, the news..

BASKETBALL: Knicks send Celtics packing 

I'd be a lot less than honest if I told you that I thought the Knicks had any sort of prayer against the Boston Celtics in the second round playoff series that just concluded on Friday night. The Celtics were the defending NBA Champions but more to the point, the Knicks lost to them all four times they had played each other this season, and only one of the losses was the game even respectable. 

And I get it, I can site multiple examples of instances where on team dominated another team in the regular season and that team turned around and knocked that team out of the playoffs. I saw the Mets be both the victim (1988 Dodgers) and beneficiary (2015 Cubs) of 2 such instances. The Rangers pulled an 0-fer vs the Flyers in 1985-86 in the regular season, then sent the Broad Street Bullies home in a best of 5 series that spring. 

So I know it happens.

The issue here was that not only couldn't beat Boston, they also couldn't beat the Eastern Conference Regular season leader Cleveland Cavaliers, or the overall NBA best record holding OKC Thunder. In fact it seemed like they had issues with any really good team out there. They sort of feasted on the lower rungs of the league. And there's nothing wrong with that, except that none of those crap teams make the playoffs obviously. 

The Knicks even had a hard time with the Detroit Pistons in the regular season, and though they had the better record and home court, that first round series was a struggle. My point is, it was easy to see how one might conclude the deck was stacked against our hometown Knicks as they went up to Boston.

And in both Games 1 and 2, the Knicks found themselves down by 20+ points only to pick themselves off the mat and come back. The Celtics didn't help themselves, as Karl (the Ace) Ludwig asked if they were aware they were allowed to shoot the ball from inside the three point arc? 

The Celtics live and die by the three. When they hit, they're practically unbeatable. But heavens forbid they go cold. 

Which is exactly what happened. 

I realize I sound like an old man telling kids to get off my lawn when I say this, but the art of working the ball around and/or taking the ball to the hole is little to non-existent. But that's a discussion for another day. For now, congrats to the Knicks, for getting to the ECF for the first time since the Clinton administration. A rematch with the Indiana Pacers, who knocked off the aforementioned Cavs, is up next. 

BASEBALL: Subway Series:

Editors Note: I have been promising to discuss Pete Rose and gambling in sports for a while. I was going to do so here too in light of the news that Rob Manfred has lifted the permanent ban on Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other members of the Black Sox this past week. I really want to do a special on this and I'm more determined to do it now. I can't any promises, but I will effort this project this week. 

The Yankees took game one of the 2025 Subway Series up in the Bronx on Friday night, which as I pointed out on Facebook, was a lot easier to take since the Knicks were putting the smackdown on the Celtics around the same time the Yanks were putting one on my Mets. 

What I wanted to discuss though was something that turned into an all show debate on the FAN on my drive into the Heart Walk on Thursday. Tiki Barber, the former Giant great running back and now co-host with Evan Roberts, couldn't for the life of him understand why Yankee fans would boo and harass Juan Soto upon his return to the Stadium on Friday night. "He led you guys to the World Series last year" Tiki kept repeating, "He didn't throw you under the bus. He took the best deal. Why would you boo somebody for doing that?"

Alas, Tiki was speaking as a former athlete. I'll speak as a fan, and one who has seen many a star athlete leave for greener pastures (see-Strawberry, Darryl; Messier, Mark, and coaches Keenan, Mike and Riley, Pat) the last freaking thing we care about is how much money they want to get paid. 

If I was a Yankee fan, I would have booed the $h-t out of Juan Soto on Friday night. Just like I would have booed Daryl Strawberry had I gone to his first game back at Shea in 1991, or I would have booed Messier the night he came back in 1997*. Is it right? I don't know, to me it's human nature. 

It would be nice, from where I'm sitting, if Soto would start hitting like he did for the Bronx Bombers last year. He made the last out of the game on Friday night and if he keeps doing things like that, getting booed at Yankee Stadium is going to be the least of his worries. I'm confident he will, I'm just sayin. 

The Mets took the second game on Saturday afternoon. 3-2. We're going to press while the rubber game is going on. 

POLITICS: DE PLANE!

I'm not going to get into the ethics and morality of whether Convicted Felon Captain Orange should accept a luxury jet from Qatar. I mean if you believe there's nothing wrong with that or that there would be no strings attached, well, you also voted for him, so me pointing this out to you is a waste of both our times. 

But I had to laugh and some of the whatabouts I read this week when the topic came up. More than one person I saw actually said "Should we give back the Statue of Liberty? After all, that was a gift from another country."

I'm serious.

Someone actually compared a statue that is supposed to symbolize all this country is supposed to be about, and is also a tourist attraction that millions of people have come to see, to a plane none of us are going to ever be near, never mind aboard. CFCO isn't even going to share it with the next POTUS (assuming there is a next POTUS) as he says he's going to donate it to his Presidential Library foundation. 

Right.

BTW: Congress had to and did vote to approve accepting the Statue of Liberty from France before President Grover Cleveland could formally accept it. Congress is supposed to approve any gift from a foreign country. 

According to ABC News..

Attorney General Pam Bondi and other DOJ lawyers had determined that the acceptance of the plane was legally permissible if the Qatari government gifts it to the Defense Department and it is later turned over to the Trump Library Foundation.

A former senior DOJ official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that for the jet gift to violate federal laws barring the payment of bribes or gratuities to officials, the gift would have to be motivated by corrupt intent.

“Bribery requires a corrupt intent to influence an official act, i.e., a quid pro quo,” said the former official.

Again, I'm sure the government of Qatar is just doing this out of the kindness of their hearts and certainly aren't looking for any quid pro quo. And I'm also sure CFCO wouldn't offer any, especially any of those classified documents he's got stored in his Mar-A- Lago bathroom. 

Go back and look at how they got their stadiums built for the last World Cup if you want to see what kind of humanitarians they are. You think they are doing this out of the kindness of their hearts?

Well, again if you voted for him, it doesn't really matter does it? 

Once again, thank you for supporting Running for Rebecca. 

Stay Safe

and Have a Great Week

*I've told this story a couple of times.. Messier returned to the Garden on 11/25/1997, a few days before Razor Ray McGarvey got married. That night I was waiting for Ray to pick me up cuz we were going to pick up our tuxes for the wedding. I was watching the game with my dad and right before they dropped the puck, they played a video on the scoreboard set to Now and Forever by Carole King. When the video was over it said in big letters Thanks Mark. They then showed Messier on the ice sobbing uncontrollably. My dad who rarely gets emotional yelled at me "You still gonna boo him after that?" I ran from my house to Ray's car trying not to let either Ray or Karl see the tears streaking down my face as I got in. I still think he was a weasel for how he left, but yeah, that video got to me. 

Weekly Mail May 11, 2025

 

Hi Everyone:

First and foremost, a very Happy Mother's Day to all. I hope that all the moms out there had a fantastic  day and weekend, and we thank all of you for all the amazing things that you do. 

Weather wise, you could not have gotten a better weekend. I was down in Rockaway on Saturday morning and the wind was a bit much, but the sun was out and the skies were blue. In the city, there was not much wind, so the walk to work was perfecto. 

RUNNING FOR REBECCA

I owe all of you an apology, as I have done a lousy job this year promoting our annual Heart Walk in remembrance of our sweet girl Becky.

The walk is going to be this coming Thursday at Principe Park (the former Maurice Park) at 5:15 PM. Please join us if you can. 

I've set up my page if you want to donate to Team Weekly Mail. Again, I totally dig it if you can't donate, I only set my page up last week. 

https://www2.heart.org/site/TR/HeartWalk/FDA-FoundersAffiliate?px=17407286&pg=personal&fr_id=11395

Big thanks to Judge Jenny Tubridy and Razor Ray for their donations. Also, this week's blogpost is sponsored by Pepsi-The Choice of a New Generation (of which we certainly are not)  

And with that, on we go..

POPE LEO XIV

Back in 2013, before he left New York for the Vatican to vote on the replacement for Pope Benedict XVI, Timothy Cardinal Dolan was asked if he thought there was any chance the College of  Cardinals would vote him in as the next Pope.

"I have a better chance of playing third base for the Yankees than I do being elected Pope" Cardinal Dolan answered with a chuckle. 

Alas he wasn't far from wrong. Every single article I read in the leadup to this latest Papal Conclave stated unequivocally that the odds of any American Cardinal being elected to the papacy were slim to none. More than one said that the College of Cardinals believed that electing a Pope from a superpower was extremely unlikely, that a Pope from a developing nation would be better suited to handle issues of poverty and famine. Whether or not that argument makes any sense is irrelevant, the point is, that was always the conventional wisdom. 

I had a laptop set up in my office with CNN on, with the sound down of course so that I could concentrate on my real job. For about 45 minutes prior, they were showing Captain Orange sitting behind the Resolute desk, rambling on about a trade deal he had just struck with the UK. In the corner of the screen was a live shot of the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. 

They had already had two votes (or as my co-editor Razor Ray McGarvey called it, two smokes) that morning, and I'm not going to lie, I thought they had some set conducting two votes whilst I was still asleep. But there's a six hour time difference between Oceanside/RVC and the Vatican (which I should know being that I spent a week in Italy almost 7 years ago)  As I was heading to work, the College of Cardinals were heading off to lunch. 

I looked on line to see what time they were going to get back from lunch (and prayers) to take another vote. USA Today reported that the next vote would start around 10:30 AM EDT, (4:30 PM in Rome) 

I was set to go on break at 12 noon when the little picture in picture on my screen became the whole picture with plumes of white smoke emitting from the world's most famous chimney. I alerted my work partner, Andrea, (who starts and ends every sentence spoken to me with my name) 

I said "looks like we got some white smoke there Dre!" 

"Yo, Bill. Look at that Bill. Who you think they gonna pick Bill?' 

I had actually convinced myself that they were going to play this one safe and pick Pietro Cardinal Parolin from Italy, who was essentially Pope Francis second in command, much like they had gone with Cardinal Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI after John Paul II had died. 

I spent almost all of my hour long break waiting for them to make the announcement. CNN was saying that it usually takes about 1/2 hour between the white smoke, and the announcement/presentation of the new Pope. In that time, the newly elected Pope first goes into the "chapel of tears" named because usually once elected, the new Pope goes in there and reflects on the enormity of the responsibility he has just had bestowed on him and it's easy to become overwhelmed. Then he is fitted for his new papal garments.

But as a 1/2 hour became 45 minutes and then was closing in on an hour, Andrea suggested "Bill, yo, you better go get yourself something to eat. Your damn lunchtime is almost up, Bill" 

So I took my phone and streamed another news network while I ran back and forth from the cafeteria. 

I got back and still no announcement. 

So I wolfed down lunch and prepared to get back to work, when Dominique Cardinal Mamberti, came to the balcony to make the announcement.

Now one of the CNN Commentators understood Latin, so he was trying to interpret what Cardinal Mamberti was saying. But he was talking over Mamberti so it was hard to hear what either man was saying. Then (I think it was Erin Burnett) started shouting something, and in addition I had Dre asking me "Yo, Bill, who dey pick Bill?" I didn't know because I couldn't freaking hear.

But I thought I heard the name Roberto somewhere along the line, which was not on my bingo card, so to speak. Then I realized that when Cardinal Mamberi had said Roberto, Erin Burnett was yelling "It's  an American Pope! It's an American Pope!" 

I have written so many times on these pages that nothing ever surprises me anymore. I'm pretty convinced I've just about seen it all. The last time something happened that I was certain wasn't going to happen was when I went to bed the morning of November 9, 2016 having watched Captain Orange defeat Hillary Clinton for the Presidency. After that, I was sure you could tell me that pigs could fly and I wouldn't  bat an eyelash. 

But this? This I did not see coming.

Not at all. 

Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost was born and raised near the South Side of Chicago, a graduate of Villanova (Class of 1977) who earned a Masters Degree from Catholic Theological Union in 1982, and later in 1982 was ordained a priest. He began working in Peru in 1985. And except for an occasional assignment stateside, was pretty much assigned there until 1998. 

He returned to Chi-town in 1998 and held administrative positions in the church until he was named Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru in 2014. He became a naturalized citizen of Peru in 2015, (which if I was a coldhearted cynic, I'd suggest that maybe the Cardinals forgot he was from Chicago and assumed he was Peruvian- again if I was a cold hearted cynic) 

He was appointed by Pope Francis to be a Cardinal in September 2023. I wasn't aware of that till I started reading up on him these past few days, but to me, that was another reason I couldn't see him getting elected Pope. The other contenders had to have been Cardinals longer than he had.

People have asked me how I feel about it, and to be honest, even as I'm sitting here writing all this, it still hasn't sunk in. I have to admit, I'm getting a kick out of hearing his brothers and sister talk about him in their Chicago accents. And it's going to be something else to hear a Pope speak in clear English. One of the things that I admire about the Popes that I have seen and heard in my lifetime is their command of so many different languages. I went to the Mass that Pope John Paul II had at Aqueduct on October 6, 1995. And while his English was broken, I could still understand a lot of what he was saying. To paraphrase my late father in law, his English was a lot better than my Polish (or Latin for that matter) 

Having said that, it will be a kick to hear a Pope address English speaking countries in English. I'm guessing with all the time spent in Peru, any sign of Andy Sipowicz or Bill Sworski will have been long gone. 

I don't really want to get too political here, so I will save the whole Cardinal Prevost vs. JD Vance debate for another day, as well as the idea of Pope Francis/Pope Leo XIV are too liberal. I mean I just can't go there.

But I have to say CFCO wrote a very gracious post on his Truth Social account. I'm sure somewhere along the line he will take credit for Leo XIV's election to the papacy, but as of this writing, he has been nothing but cordial. All the living former Presidents have been equally congenial. Clinton, W. Bush, Obama and Biden all praising and congratulating the new pontiff. 

I had posted a link to some Pope Trivia last week. To have a little fun, I'm posting and editing some highlights from that post... Here are my favorite Pope names...

 My Favorite Pope Names:

Pope Linus- The second Pope. Never left Rome without his blanket

Pope Hyginus- First Pope to shower daily. 

Pope Sylvester- Was fond of chicken and turkey dinners. Talked with a lisp. Sufferin  succotash !

Pope Virgilius-From Broad Channel. (not really)

Pope Hilarius- If Cardinal Dolan would have been elected, he should have become Pope Hilarius II. very funny 

Pope Lando-My personal favorite. In high school and college they tried to recruit me to be either a priest or a brother. Had I chosen the Priesthood and worked my way up the ladder as it were, and somehow became the first American Pope instead of Father Rob, I would have become Pope Lando II. 

Pope Lando II

Most often used Pope names

John - 23 times 
Benedict - 16 times 
Gregory - 16 times 

Leo- 14 times

Clement - 14 times 
Innocent - 13 times 
Pius - 12 times 
Stephen - 10 times

So there have been 13 Pope Innocents. Here's a picture of Pope Guilty I

Hey don't yell at me. He's the one who posted it. 

Onto sports..

HOCKEY-Rangers off season mess. 

I feel like the hockey gods are punishing me. Or should I say, more than they usually do, 

It's like they decided I was an ungrateful prick last year as I bitched and moaned after the Rangers were knocked out of the Eastern Conference Finals by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. It was a Saturday night and the Rangers managed one measly goal in an elimination game. The game ended just as my shift at the Post was ending, so I spent most of my time on the train rage texting Karl and Ray, and rage posting on Facebook (something I really should consider giving up for Lent one year-and then not picking up after Easter either)  Of course there was the subsequent blog in which I ripped the team for having no heart/guts and demanding half the team be dealt away. 

One of the guys I wanted traded was Captain Jacob Trouba, who didn't want to leave, not necessarily because he wanted to be a Ranger, but because his wife was finishing her residency to be a doctor here in NY. And yeah, there was a human part of me that felt for the Troubas, especially someone willing to help heal people. But the hockey part of me saw Trouba as a defenseman who didn't play defense, a body checker who didn't check, and was taking a big part of the salary cap to not do what he was supposed to do. 

He was eventually convinced to accept a deal to the Ducks. 

I also wanted Mike Zibanejad traded, which broke my heart because he was one of my favorites. I just felt that he had one move, the one-timer from the left circle. Once teams figured out to have someone there, you could stop him. Well, he had an awful year, barely making it to 20 goals. The only way the Rangers could trade him now is to take back an equally burdensome contract in exchange. I'm more sad than angry about him at this point. 

It's tempting for me to sit here and write that I have never seen a team that was so good one year completely $hit the bed the following year, but I sure did. The Rangers won the President's Trophy in 1992, beat the Devils in a 7 game first round series that should have been over in 5 games tops, then choked against the eventual Cup champ Penguins. If I had a blog back then, I probably would have written a lot of the same crap I wrote last June. In any event, the next year, they missed the playoffs altogether, and some folks were saying that perhaps Mark Messier was a tad overrated.* 

Two days before that season came to a merciful end, the team announced that Mike Keenan would take over as coach the following season.

The rest as they say is history.

So now, the Rangers turn to Mike Sullivan, late of the aforementioned Penguins. I have to admit, I'm more exited about the team bringing Sullivan in than I was about the last two coaches the Rangers hired, Peter Laviolette and Gerard Gallant. Both of these retreads led the team to the ECF in their first year and were bounced in the first round, (Gallant), missed the playoffs altogether (Laviolette) and never got to a third season behind the Blueshirt's bench. 

Is that the same fate that awaits Sullivan? 

It's hard to see the roster as presently constituted making any sort of a run, but perhaps Sullivan can get these guys to dig a little deeper and perhaps make one more run at glory. More likely the roster has seen its best days and in that case will have to be made over. Then the question becomes, is Chris Drury the man to oversee that project? 

To me, Drury is the main culprit here. And don't get me wrong, I liked him as a player, I love that he won a Little League World Series, (in Trumbull CT of all places) and I think he's a basically decent guy. 

But he screwed up this year. First bungling the whole thing with Trouba, then sending out a memo that Chris Krieder was available for the right price. Maybe it wasn't his fault that the memo got leaked, but still it did. And as much as I'm a "you're getting paid enough money to block those distractions out" kind of guy, that had to be a tough pill for Kreider to swallow. 

James Dolan gave Drury an extension because of course he did. Maybe at this time next year I'll be eating crow and having to admit I was harsh on Drury. I hope that's the truth. Like Evan Roberts said this week. "I'd rather be wrong and happy than right and miserable."

FOOTBALL -The 2025 NFL Draft.

Speaking of Evan Roberts, for lack of better judgement, I usually listen to the FAN on my way to work and on the ride home. I can't swear to this, but I feel like the two shows, Boomer and Gio, and Evan and Tiki, spent more time dissecting and analyzing this NFL Draft than any other I can remember. Almost every day between the end of the NFL Regular Season, and the draft that took place on April 23-25, they had long winded discussions about the draft. And it wasn't necessarily all about the Giants and Jets, who (and you'll never believe this..) each had a pick in the top 10.

No, the main thing these guys were droning on about was Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, the son of legendary cornerback/loudmouth Deion Sanders, who was also his college coach. 

For weeks, they debated, hypothesized, and predicted where young Shedeur was going to end up. If I had a dime for every time one of these FAN geniuses said "I think he's a lock to go to the Giants" followed by the other host saying, "I don't think he's going to slip down to three" or "The Giants won't take him because John Mara said they have to win now" I'd have enough money to buy a PSL. 

I mean, they would turn that into the 30 minute segment. And it was every freakin' day. Every day. Even with live NBA Basketball going on, even with St. John's romping through the Big East and making college basketball relevant here for the first time in ages. I've long since realized they will never talk hockey on the FAN unless the Rangers or Islanders are in the Cup Finals, so I don't expect any real hockey talk here, but they beat the subject of the NFL Draft to death. 

And having said all that, I still can't believe what became of Shedeur Sanders.

One of the things the FAN hosts said was that Sanders might go second overall in the draft, to the Cleveland Browns. Well, he did end up in Cleveland, but not until the 5th round, and AND, after the Browns had drafted another QB! 

OK, I'm not what you would call a draftnik, but I have never seen a guy who was touted to be a Top-3 pick end up not getting drafted till the 5th round. 

Now, what everyone is saying is that he talked his way out of the first four rounds. That he didn't "interview well" during the pre-draft workouts and conferences. I mean I can buy that to an extent, but the bottom line is, if a kid is talented enough, and a GM/coach thinks that kid can eventually lead them to a Super Bowl, the kid can tell the GM/coach that his mamma wears combat boots, they'll draft them. Look at all the guys who have gotten drafted who have gotten into trouble. The bottom line is, they saw something on the field they didn't like. I'm very curious to see if the scouts were right, or if Mr. Sanders is as good as he and his old man think he is. 

As for our local teams who passed up on young Shedeur, the Giants drafted linebacker Abdul Carter, whose opinion of himself is about as high as Sanders is of hisself. Carter had the gall to ask the Giants if they would consider un-retiring Lawrence Taylor's number 56! Can you freakin imagine?

LT must have found Jesus or something, because he handled Carter's request a lot classier than he may have in the past. He encouraged Carter to "take a number and make it great on your own." 

He will wear number 51 in minicamp, as he says, a mashup of LT and Phil Simms numbers. For the Giants sake, I hope his talent matches his chutzpah, because if it does, he's going to end up in Canton. 

As for my beloved Jets, they drafted an offensive tackle with the 7th pick overall. The consensus is that after drafting an OT last year, they have an excellent young O-Line that will eventually do a great job protecting a QB. Now they just need a QB to protect. 

It would be neat if these guys turned out to be the bookends of a Hall of Fame O-Line that will have a catchy nickname and end up in Canton along with Abdul Carter. More likely, they'll all either negotiate their way to another team (like Jamal Adams or Saquon Barkley) or just plain stink. 

Again, like Evan Roberts said "I'd rather be wrong and happy than right and miserable." Neither one of our teams has earned the right from me to say "Hey, I think we're onto something here" till they start winning and we can say "Hey, it looks like we're onto something here."  

POT STORY 

On Thursday, I decided to tune into Q-104's 3@3 to see if they would play 3 songs to honor Pope Leo XIV. They didn't. 

They played Rock this Town by the Stray Cats, Sweet Leaf by Black Sabbath, and Light My Fire by the Doors. 

The theme of the 3 @ 3 according to host Ken Dashow was regarding a town in Turkey, that had confiscated a large amount of weed. (Sweet Leaf), decided the best way to get rid of it was to burn it, (Light My Fire) and that caused many of the town's 25,000 residents to get high, whether they wanted to or not (Rock this Town). 

Girl, we couldn't get much higher. 

According to the Irish Newspaper the Sunday World, 

Police torched the mounds of confiscated weed in Lice, a town located in a rural area in the south-eastern Turkish province of Diyarbakır, leaving locals “dizzy, queasy, and, in some cases, delusional”.

“The smell of drugs has been enveloping the district for days,” one man complained to local media. “We cannot open our windows. Our children got sick, we are constantly going to the hospital.”

Authorities had set fire to the drugs, worth an estimated 10 billion Turkish Lira (or about €230m, or about $258m) that had been gathered from around the province in 2023 and 2024.

First of all, not sure I'd want to live in a town called Lice. The cost of shampoo and conditioner around there must be astronomical, but I digress. 

The cops, perhaps maybe having enjoyed a toke or two of grass themselves, decided to make this even more interesting...

(the) cops then arranged bags of cannabis into letters spelling out the town’s name before setting them ablaze, a display that Yahya Öğer, Chairman of the Yeşil Yıldız Association, said was "unacceptable" and "lacking professionalism."

“This was perhaps done as a preventive measure to deter, but the fact that it was destroyed in the city centre could cause serious discomfort to people due to the smoke of burned hemp,” Öğer said.

Yeah, I'm not a prude or anything, but that goes into the book of bad ideas. 

There are small children and probably elderly folks in that town, just like any other in the world, who could be harmed by something like this. I'm also quite certain there were some folks there who thought they'd died and went to heaven. There are some guys I went to high school with who are probably reading this and calling up their travel agents as we speak. 

I suggest the town hires Matt Nathanson to be their new spokesperson. He had this soft rock hit back in 2008. 

Come on Get Higher, here in Lice, Turkey. Bring plenty of shampoo and potato chips. 

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

I'm going to hold off on writing about the Knicks. Believe me, I was surprised as anyone that they beat the Celtics up in Boston both on Monday and Wednesday. The series looked more like we all thought it would on Saturday at the Garden. I thought there was as much chance the Knicks were going to win two games in Boston as there was that the Pope was going to come from the same place as Bad Bad Leroy Brown. 

Ya never know. 

Again, a very Happy Mother's Day to everyone

Stay Safe,

and Have a Great Week 

*I was not one of those people. (At least you can’t prove that I was)

Weekly Mail Special: Pope Francis 1936-2025

 

Pope Francis died the day after Easter, April 21, 2025 at the age of 88. 

It was 2 1/2 weeks past the 20-year anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death.  Pope Benedict XVI, who succeeded John Paul II, resigned in 2013, an almost unheard of occurrence for a Pope. 

John Paul II was elected Pope in October of 1978, just after I had started in kindergarten. He ruled for 26 years and died just a few months before I got married. The point being that Popes dying hasn't happened a lot lately. So when it happens, it's a big deal.

And I don't know if it's because I'm trying to avoid the news in 2025, or what, but I haven't spent as much time following the coverage of Francis' death. I did happen to get up last Saturday to try to watch the funeral at 4 in the morning, but much like our commander in chief, I couldn't really stay awake for it. 

What I do know is that Francis died much like how he lived. As a simple, dignified man, who resisted the trappings and glory of leading the Catholic Church, choosing instead to live relatively low key. He lived in an apartment rather than the Papal Palace where his predecessors resided. I saw an interview with Raniero Mancinelli, who served as tailor to John Paul II and Benedict XVI before doing likewise for Francis. Mancinelli told ABC News that he actually lost money during Francis reign as Pope because Francis bought more simplistic garments and papal bling (my words not his) than the previous pontiffs. 

He made history by being the first Pope born in the new world, and the first Jesuit priest to be elected to the papacy. 

I choose to remember Francis as The Happy Pope. Rare was the time I didn't see him with a huge smile on his face. But it was more than that. To me he was the Pope who tried to find the middle ground, the Pope who chose not to focus on what was different about us, but what we had in common. 

I know that folks are going to say that he didn't do enough, that far too many people are still not made to feel welcome in the church. I understand that argument and in some cases I agree with it. But I also saw Francis as someone who was able to navigate that line better than most. Maybe giving priests permission to bless gay couples is still far too short of allowing gay marriage in the church, but it's quite a step forward from condemning it as had been done in the past. 

John Paul II had started somewhat progressive, but I felt the older he got, the more he began to lean on the more conservative wing of the church. I think part of that was that he was sicker than he let on and wasn't totally in charge of the store as it were. 

Francis never wavered from his goal of reaching out. Even as he got older and was in poor health towards the end, he stuck to what he believed in. The next Pope is going to have big shoes to fill. 

And speaking of the next Pope, the conclave starts this coming Wednesday. Here are some of the names of the Cardinals being bandied about the interwebs...

Pierbattista Pizzaballa-Italy- He's the youngest candidate I've seen, having just turned 60. He is the Latin Patriarch to Jerusalem, putting him close to the never ending war in the Middle East. They say his age is working against him. Huh? You wanna be doing this again in a couple years? 

Luis Antonio Angle-Philippines-He's 67, would be the first Asian Pope, and has been compared to Francis both in style and substance. Also considered a natural in front of the camera. 

Mateo Maria Zupi-Italy-Like Francis, has chosen to forego the more opulent trappings of the college of cardinals. Also favors a more inclusive church. Maybe not as outgoing as Cardinal Angle. 69 years old. 

Jean-Marc Aveline-France- Sounds more like a goalie for the Canadiens than a Papal candidate, but all joking aside,  he has similar philosophies to Francis in terms of social justice. Kind of looks like Francis too. Has also been compared (in appearance namely) to Pope John XXIII, the one who brought the world the Second Vatican Council (highlights-Masses no longer strictly in Latin and meatless Fridays only during Lent)  66 years old.

Pietro Parolin-Italy-This was Francis number 2. Makes a lot of sense in terms of handing the keys off to the co-pilot. The knock on him is that he's not considered a powerful enough speaker, and isn't quite as charismatic as his late boss. Not to be too much of a dick, but at the end of the day, the Pope is the church's lead salesman.  70 years old. 

Juan Jose Omella-Spain-Another who seems to be ready and willing to follow in Francis footsteps. Working against him is that while he acknowledged the sexual abuse in the church, he strongly suggested that the number of victims was exaggerated. That's not going to fly here. 79 years old

Peter Turkson-Ghana-Would be the first black Pope. I also read he was once a guitarist in a funk band, which I think is an amazing thing to have on a Papal resume. He has spoken out against the criminalization  of gay people in his native Ghana, but is also widely considered to lean more conservative. 76 years old. 

Peter Erdo-Hungary-Most of what I've read on him is that he would bring the church back to the latter days of John Paul and the beginning of Benedict. Not where I think the church should be going. 72 years old. 

I'm rooting for either Pizzaballa or Angle, I'm guessing it's going to either be Zupi or Parolin. 

I put this list together a few years ago. Some Pope trivia and commentary

With the world as screwy as it is now, the College of Cardinals really need to get this one right. Let's all hope (and if you're so inclined-pray) they don't screw it up. 

WM will do it's best to have white smoke coverage when it happens. 

Editor's note- I will try to have a blogpost covering the Rangers coaching change, the Knicks playoff run, the NFL Draft and other non-political stuff in the next day or two. I may also have some things to say about CFCO's first 100 days. Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, but we'll be catching up soon. 

Stay Safe.