Friday Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Prior to the fall of the USSR, in hindsight there were signs of trouble but at the time none of the intelligence agencies or "experts" foresaw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the USSR. Makes you wonder with some of the issues with the CCP (reports of exports down 40%, the real estate crisis, and the Zero COVID lockdowns and protests) if the intelligence agencies and "experts" are likewise missing the boat on major disruption coming for China?... The Celtics are off to a 21-5 start to the season. The two words you never hear in Boston any more - Ime Udoka... The most watched thing on YouTube is the little countdown clock in the bottom righthand corner telling you when you can click to skip ads. If you could sponsor that it would be the most effective product placement on the Internet... Petrified Lizards would be a good name for a band (or as a slogan for the 2024 Biden / Harris re-election campaign)... Great Larry Bird story… The Red Sox let Xander Bogaerts, the face of the franchise, walk out the door. Many Red Sox fans are also walking out the door as well. I was pretty much done with the team after the Mookie Betts trade (after being worn down by the Normar and Jon Lester trades)... Both the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos have major issues after signing big name QB's to huge contracts. Could a possible solution for both franchises be to simply to trade Kyler Murray for Russell Wilson? Trade would never happen but it is fun to think about... Reminder of how talented Bob Hope and James Cagney were... Business idea - a company called Karen's which is made up entirely of white, middle-aged women who will write letters on your behalf to the management of companies with whom you have a complaint... That time of year and in my opinion the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim is the best ever made. The second best to me is the 1999 version starring Patrick Stewart which is almost word for word true to the book... As always, if anything here made you think or smile please subscribe (it's free!), hit the Like button, or share the link with others (the best way for others to read my efforts). Thanks in advance...
Amen re the Sox losing Xander and Mookie. The latter reminds me of Willie Mays and to this day I can't understand the logic of the Sox letting him go. What the hell were they thinking? Certainly not about the fans. Mookie is special, not just because he can do it all -- hit, run, and field -- but he also has an appealing personality that make him a fan favorite. Boston fans appreciated the talents of less charismatic players like Jacoby Ellsbury or David Price, but they loved Mookie.
I remember listening to Terry Francona on a talk radio show when he was managing the Sox. He got very indignant when a caller referred to the Sox as "entertainers." "We're not entertainers, we're ball players!" he snapped. Well, sorry, but like every other professional sports team that's exactly what they are. If it weren't for the millions of fan followers who are entertained by their play -- and support the advertisers who fund the multimillion dollar salaries -- they wouldn't exist. If I were the owner of a sports team I'd consider the entertainment value of a player like Mookie to be just about as important as his skill on the field. The Sox owners don't seem to think that way, and I suspect the result will be that a lot of people like you and me will be looking elsewhere for our entertainment.