Israel’s utter decimation of Hezbollah in Lebanon has confirmed that they have reached the “That’s All I Can Stands I Can’t Stands no More!” stage of existence. In the absence of US leadership Bibi and company has decided to act in their own best interest and take out the trash rather than sit back and appease western governments afraid of angry Arabs.
With Tanks now at the border of Lebanon and the entire command structure of Lebanon gone suddenly the Lebanese is suggesting they will enforce UN resolutions to restrain what’s left of Hezbollah but Israel seems to have decided to take the John Wayne approach from True Grit on rats deciding to kill them rather than let them be.
If I was Iran I’d be damn scared right now.
Speaking of Israel I don’t know what is more embarrassing to me as an American.
That a few days after the Houti’s attacks a group of US warships without any response from us Israel took out their entire oil and fuel reserves at Al Hudaydah port in retaliation for a ballistic Missile strike they conducted against them while they were busy in the north.
That Joe Biden the president when asked about this strike into Yemen strike said this:
Just so we're all clear on what's happening here – Jill Biden walks off without him, he is then asked about the Israeli IDF missile strikes in Yemen, and his reply is that he supports a union collective bargaining agreement and thinks that the strike will end soon. https://t.co/cy2itvNcKI
This is the man who just over three months ago the entire news media INSISTED was sharp as a tack and anyone who said otherwise was speaking “disinformation”
If you want to understand the difference between a champion and a good player look no further than this exchange when Tom Brady was asked about comments made by the current Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield concerning how the players wanted him to bring “the joy back to Football” lessening the strees they had during the Brady years.
Tom Brady responds to claims from Baker Mayfield that Buccaneers players "weren't having fun" playing alongside him.
"I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings. If I wanted to have fun, I was going to go to Disneyland with my kids."pic.twitter.com/G86fUGYfAE
In fairness to Mayfield he has not done bad in Tampa Bay leading them to one playoff win and having a good start this year. When he manages that first Super Bowl Ring then he can talk.
Let me tell you fans in New England are learning the stress of no Super Bowl Rings these days
Some People are shocked that Hillary Clinton is demanding the MSM attack Donald Trump more which given the level they have hit him so far doesn’t seem possible.
I’m not
In fairness to Mrs. Clinton the media is bought and paid for by the left so leftist like her are simply treating them like the slaves to the left that they are https://t.co/Npt0ByG9CA
She is simply claiming the right to treat her slaves as she wishes.
Finally the Chicago White Sox managed to avoid the worst kind of history winning 5 of their final six to finish 41-121 with a .253 winning percentage. While they did set the record for most losses in a season at 121 which beats the 1962 Mets 160 their 41 wins means their winning percentage is .253 as opposed to the Mets .250 meaning that the Mets remain in a class by themselves.
It’s an even bigger accomplishment when you figure that by taking two of three from the Tigers they forced them into the 6th seed in the playoffs when a single win would have given them home field advantage vs the Royals so they had something to play for.
As the Monty Python crew sings, always look at the bright side of life
“The Mets have shown me more ways to lose than I even knew existed.” Casey Stengel, New York Mets manager in 1962.
“I didn’t know there were this many ways to lose a ballgame.” John Schriffen, Chicago White Sox play-by-play announcer in 2024.
“It was a year that none of us anticipated,” Steve Stone, White Sox color analyst, during the last game of the season.
Last Friday night the Chicago White Sox made history in Detroit when they lost their MLB record 121st game. To add salt to the wounds, in the home broadcast booth, Chicago area native Jason Benetti, who was the South Siders’ play-by-play announcer from 2019 thru 2023, called the game for the Tigers. According to media reports, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who has been, deservedly so, cast as the villain on the South Side, didn’t like the serendipitous and a bit quirky broadcasting style of Benetti, who is now the television voice of the Tigers.
When your team sucks, Jerry, an announcer like Benetti is just what is needed. Besides, I thought Jason was great.
While I didn’t make it out to Guaranteed Rate Field for a Sox home game—lots of stuff came up–I viewed many games on television.
And it was bizarre watching.
After I’d miss a few games, I’d tune in and see an unfamiliar player at bat or on the pitchers’ mound. A lot.
By the end of July, it was as if the team plane for the White Sox had crashed, killing the entire roster. Of course that’s exaggeration, but there was an incredible amount of turnover this season as general manager Chris Getz and team manager Pedro Grifol, tried to patch holes on the sinking ship.
Who is that guy? Where did he come from? Those are questions I asked a lot when tuning in to White Sox baseball.
Grifol didn’t survive August. Few managers do after losing 21 straight games—and that tied an American League record, set by the Baltimore Orioles in 1988.
Here’s an interesting fact. Larry Sheets, an outfielder for those awful O’s, is the father of Gavin Sheets, an outfielder and first baseman for the Sox.
Why were the Sox so bad in 2024? Bad luck? Perhaps. Injuries? A bit. But in a 162-game season, even the best teams hit an unlucky patch or two. All teams in all sports have injuries.
The short answer is that the White Sox farm system has been bereft of talent for years, save for “white flag” mid-season trades of established players with expensive contracts in exchange for prospects. The last number one Sox draft pick who has justifiably been called an MLB standout was shortstop Tim Anderson, the 2019 American League batting champion and a two-time all-star. Anderson was drafted eleven years ago. He’s out of baseball now. The following year the Sox drafted Carlos Rodón in the first round, he now hurls for the New York Yankees. Rodón is a two-time all-star who pitched a no-hitter in 2021. He comes close to stardom, but again, Rodón was drafted ten years ago.
In this afternoon’s game against the Tigers, there was a typical White Sox boneheaded error. Stone remarked that “communication issues” have been a problem all year for Chicago. A Detroit pinch hitter, Andy Ibáñez, hit a routine foul pop-up that soared near the visitors’ dugout. Sox first baseman, Andrew Vaughn, yelled “I got it” repeatedly. But Pale Hose catcher Korey Lee ran towards the pop-up too. Neither caught the ball, it landed between them.
Of the White Sox players with enough at-bats to qualify for a batting average crown, Vaughn ended up with the highest average at .246. That made him the 88th best batter in MLB in 2024
I hate to single out Vaughn, but he played a big role in one of the most bizarre endings of an MLB game ever. He was called for interference on an infield fly rule play, concluding a game against the Orioles with a double play.
Take a look.
Schriffen pointed to this defeat when making that comment about his naiveté on the many ways to lose a baseball game.
There is some good news for the South Siders. If you are a “there is a no such thing as bad publicity” type, for the first time since the White Sox won the World Series in 2005, they’re no longer playing in the shadow of the more popular Chicago Cubs. They’re getting national attention.
Secondly, the Sox, who lost 101 games last year, didn’t finish last in the AL Central in 2023. The Kansas City Royals lost 106 games a year ago–and they made the playoffs this season. That being said, if you believe that the White Sox will play in the post season in 2025, which by the way will be their 125th annual effort, I have some Enron stock to sell you. Getz has already said that the Sox won’t be a big factor in the off-season free agency market.
Thirdly, unless the Pale Hose break the record again next season, its “worst ever” record might be broken soon by someone else. In the 21st century, there have been several teams, most notoriously the 2003 Detroit Tigers who lost 119 games, who have challenged the Mets’ 1962 woeful performance. The 2018 Orioles tanked 115 times. The Tigers had another very rough year in 2019, losing 114 times.
The Orioles and Tigers will be joining the Royals in this year’s playoffs.
Lastly, the White Sox finished the 2024 season winning five of its last six games, including today’s game in Detroit. Interim manager Grady Sizemore might have made a difference–and he could return next year.
UPDATE 8:30pm EDT:
During the White Sox-Tigers game, Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf issued a long statement where he admitted that the South Siders “on-field performance this season was a failure.”
From that statement:
While embracing new ideas and outside perspectives, we will do everything we can to fix this for 2025 and the future. This will include further development of players on our current roster, development within our system, evaluating the trade and free agent markets to improve our ballclub and new leadership for our analytics department, allowing us to elevate and improve every process within our organization with a focus for competing for championships. In fact, change has already been happening in our baseball operations group throughout this past year. When named general manager in 2023, Chris Getz and his staff immediately began conducting a top-to-bottom evaluation of our existing operations. Chris is rebuilding the foundation of our baseball operations department, with key personnel changes already happening in player development, international scouting, professional scouting and analytics. Some of these changes will be apparent quickly while others will need time to produce the results we all want to see at the major-league level.
Great words, these are.
But Getz’ “top-to-bottom evaluation of our existing operations” that he began over a year ago has seen the White Sox, a bad team then, get much worse.
On my first regular Sunday off in almost forever I thought I’d take the time to update you on the two Dynasty Leagues I am currently running as both seasons are nearing their end.
1997
The 2nd season of our 80 game once a week short league has seven weeks to go. With no wild cards in this league it’s all down to winning divisions and 3 of the four are still very much in play. Because of the structure of the league ( 2 games series vs opposite league, 3 game series vs opposite division and 4 game series within divisions) and the fact that the final three series are all in division there is the potential of as much as a 12 game shift in the last 3 weeks.
Team
Wins
Losses
PCT
GB
Clinch/Elim #
New York
43
18
.705
—-
Cleveland
35
26
.574
8
12
Baltimore
29
32
.475
14
6
Boston
25
36
.410
18
2
AL
East
Led By Tony Gwynn who is threatening .400 (.395) and leading the majors in hits and the AL in OBP while 3rd in the league in RBI the Yanks are dominating with the best record by far helped by Andres Galarraga who leads the majors in RBI, Todd Jones who leads the majors in saves, Workhorse Andy Pettitte who leads the majors in fewest HR per 9 innings despite being 6th in Innings and Todd Stottlemyre 2nd in the AL in ERA & 4th in Avg against behind teammate Dustin Hermanson who is 3rd in the AL while 5th in k’s per 9 inn. Realistically only the Indians are still in play whose cause has not been helped by Eric Gunderson leading the AL in blown saves despite the efforts of Jeff Blauser getting on base and Matt Stairs knocking them out and driving them in.
Team
Wins
Losses
PCT
GB
Clinch/Elim #
Seattle
36
25
.590
—-
Chicago
33
26
.559
2
19
Minnesota
31
29
.517
4 1/2
16
Toronto
22
39
.361
14
6
AL
West
In the wild wild AL west only Toronto is on the way out. Seattle leads Thanks to Ken Griffey Jr. 31 HR 13 more than anyone else in the majors and Randy Johnson carrying them on their backs (1st in Majors in K/9 tied for 1st in wins 2nd in K’s overall, innings pitched & avg against, with help from Alex Rodriguez (4th in AL hits). Unlike today’s White Sox these guys are only one game away in the loss column with Jeff Shaw providing the saves while Frank Thomas the big hurt provides the offense with Mike Cameron getting on base ahead of him and J. T Snow Slugging along. Meanwhile the Twins are still in striking distance thanks to Pedro Martinez who leads in all the categories that Johnson is 2nd in and Chuck Knobloch who has been a stolen base and runs machine. Billy Wagner helps out with 11 saves 2nd in both AL & Majors but his three blown saves haven’t helped.
Team
Wins
Losses
PCT
GB
Clinch/Elim #
Atlanta
38
23
.623
—-
Cincinnati
35
26
.574
3
17
Pittsburgh
27
34
.443
11
9
Florida
26
38
.406
13 1/2
5
NL
East
Atlanta maintains a 3 game lead thanks to Greg Maddux, Rick Reed and Francisco Cordova all in the top 10 in ERA in the majors and Mariano Rivera who has saved 10 while blowing only one while Larry Walker (NL batting & Slugging lead) Tino Martinez (2nd NL slugging) provide the offense. Cincinnati with a below avg pitching stall and wracked by injury are kept alive by the return of Rickey Henderson and Lance Johnson from the DL. Pittsburgh recent 7-3 run has given them hope but the real story is last years World Series runner up Florida who despite Mark McGuire leading the league in HR, Barry Bonds leading the majors in walks and triples and Curt Schilling & Keven Brown both being top 4 in NL ERA and 1 & 2 in NL inning pitched can’t seem to get a break
Team
Wins
Losses
PCT
GB
Clinch/Elim #
St. Louis
29
31
.483
—-
Los Angeles
29
32
.475
1/2
20
San Diego
24
35
.407
4 1/2
17
Houston
26
38
.406
5
14
NL
West
The bad news is the NL west has four teams under .500 the good news is that there is only 5 game separating the 1st and last place teams meaning that likely all four teams will be in the thick of it till the end. St. Louis has Ray Lankford and Vinnie Castilla (2nd in NL HR) and David Cone keeping them up. LA counters with Ismael Valdez 1st in the NL in avg against, WHIP & ERA carrying the team on his back. San Diego (Kenny Loftin & Billy Ripkin) and Houston (Craig Biggio , Brady Anderson ) both have stars helping them out but alas for SD while Hoffman leads the league in saves he is 2nd in Blown saves while Antonio Osuna has been even worse saving seven while blowing six most in the majors.
1972
In the 1972 league there is a lot less mystery in terms of division leaders but because of the three wild card spots in each league it’s still interesting.
Team
Wins
Losses
PCT
GB
WCGB
Elim #
New York
99
49
.669
—
N/A
Clinched
California
76
72
.514
23
+ 1 1/2
E/7 to clinch
Cleveland
68
80
.459
32
7 1/2
E/9
Kansas City
59
86
.407
38 1/2
15
E/3
Baltimore
59
89
.399
40
16 1/2
E
AL ALPHA
The only question left for the Yankees is will they get home field advantage over the Giants if they get to the World Series. Their return to the Polo Grounds with their short left and right field has given Bobby Murcer, Reggie Smith and rookie John Maybury a grand slugging boost while Terry Forster has been light out leading the majors in saves. California led by Tommy John (1st in ERA) had the 1st wild card for a while but a 2-8 skid has hurt along with Tom Bradley (2nd in Losses). They currently have the 2nd wild card but is close enough to get the 1st and the bye or drop to 3rd. With 16 to go they still need 6 more wins to secure that playoff birth so they need Manny Mota and Jose Cardenal to heat up. Cleveland seemed totally out of it but the aforementioned crash of California and Minnesota and a 6-4 run has kept them alive. Kansas City’s Bert Blyleven led the majors in innings and the AL in strikeouts and vet Frank Robinson put up a good fight in a losing cause while Baltimore had three players (Don Baylor, Amos Otis and Rick Auerbach) in the top 10 of stolen bases
Team
Wins
Losses
PCT
GB
WCGB
Elim #
Milwaukee
94
54
.635
—
N/A
Clinched
Boston
78
70
.527
16
+ 3 1/2
E/5 to clinch
Minnesota
74
71
.510
18 1/2
—-
E/9 to clinch
Oakland
66
82
.446
28
10 1/2
E/7
Washington
63
85
.426
31
19 1/2
E/4
AL Beta
Milwaukee returns to the playoffs thanks to a bounce back season from Pete Rose, and exceptional season from Ron Fairly and spectacular pitching from Ken Holtzman and last year’s Cy Young winner Don Wilson with Ken Sanders returning to save 20. Boston’s 8-2 run propelled them from the 3rd wildcard to the first led by Carl Yastrzemski whose return to Fenway has him leading the AL in batting (.330) and tied with Pete Rose for the MLB lead in OBP while rookie Carlton Fisk is doubling up a storm. Minnesota has been crashing and burning but still has Nate Colbert and his 33 HR keeping them going. Their 3 game series vs Cleveland will be critical. Oakland’s surprise sweep of Milwaukee has kept them technically alive with some help from Jim Brewer and Roy White while Washington hopes have maybe one more week left unless Mike Epstein and workhorse Jim Kaat and Richie Scheinblum (91 runs 182 hits) can pull off a miracle
Team
Wins
Losses
PCT
GB
WCGB
Elim #
New York
88
63
.583
—
N/A
To clinch 12/ 3
Atlanta
85
63
.574
1 1/2
+ 4
To Clinch 15/3
Cincinnati
81
67
.547
5 1/2
—-
9/10 to clinch
Oakland
66
82
.446
28
10 1/2
E/7
Philadelphia
67
84
.444
21
15 1/2
E/E
NL Alpha
The surging New York Daytraders (Mets) have gone 25-7 in their last 32 games (.781) to roar into 1st place with starting Pitchers Phil Niekro (21 wins), Tom Seaver (20 wins) and Steve Carlton (22 wins) and the group(1, 2 & 3 in NL inning pitched add to that big years from Willie Stargell, Leron Lee, Dick Allen and Willie Mays who is constantly walked to get on base for them they’re on their way to a return to the playoffs but despite a change in managers Atlanta who is even in the loss column led by likely MVP Billy Williams along with Catfish Hunter (23 wins 2nd in MLB) and Fergie Jenkins aren’t giving up that division lead that they’ve held most of the year without a fight. Meanwhile the big Red Machine of Cincinnati with Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Bobby Tolan are only 5 1/2 out of first while 5 up for the last wild card. The St. Louis Cardinals led by Bob Gibson (21 Wins 1st in MLB in HR/9) and Matty Alou (.330 avg) and closer Darold Knowles (23 saves) have no intention of going quietly. Philly might be out of this this year, but with Joe Torrie being joined by rookies Greg Luzinski and a young 3rd baseman named Schmidt are sure to be a threat in 73
Team
Wins
Losses
PCT
GB
WCGB
Elim #
San Francisco
98
50
.662
—
N/A
1 to Clinch
Pittsburgh
84
64
.568
14
+ 3
1/ to clinch 7
Montreal
67
81
.453
31
14
E/1
Chicago
56
92
.378
42
25
E
Los Angeles
42
106
.284
56
39
E
NL Beta
The 1970 World Champion Giants are one win away from clinching the NL Beta with 24 game winner Jim Palme 2nd in the NL in ERA 1.98 leading the way and Dock Ellis 2.01 ERA right behind him Meanwhile Bobby Bonds (90 runs 102 RBI 30 SB) is seeing a ton of pitchers as rookie Darryl Evans (123 BB 1st in MLB) and Veteran Harmon Killebrew (90 BB) keep the fear of God in pitchers along with a powerful rookie named Dave Kingman. Gaylord Perry of the Pirates leads the Majors in ERA and has 22 wins to go with it while bullpen ace Mike Marshall has chalked up 23 saves along with a still dangerous Hank Aaron (29 HR 98 walks ) all are conspiring to keep the 2nd wild card spot in the Bucks hands and are certainly in range of that #1 wild card spot. The young Montreal Team are a game from elimination but pitcher Baylor Moore who leads the majors in K/9 (11.72) and Lou Brock (52 sb 1st in majors & .326 avg) and closer Tug McGraw (31 saves) made it a fight. The Cubs can look back at Steve Brawn .333 avg 3rd in NL and Pitcher Mike Paul while last years Series winner the LA Dodgers combo of Don Sutton (3rd in WHIP) and Nolan Ryan (1st in Majors in avg against .165 & 2nd in K/9 11.19 are unlikely to stay down for long.
If you are interested in joining either league we currently have one opening in 1997 and people joining the waiting list for 1972 are welcome. If we get 4 people on the list we’ll expand.
Just because you have the right to do something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do, to wit: While you might have the right to buy your son an AR-15 as a gift even after he has been investigated by the FBI as a potential school shooter but as a father I submit it’s the wrong thing to do.
I simply don’t understand why Elon Musk’s twitter/X/whatever stubbornly refuses to re-instate Robert Stacy McCain. He was one of the first conservatives banned by twitter for the monstrous crime of quoting Radical feminists in their very own words and while there have been many others whose have been re-platformed on twitter Stacy is not one of them.
The number of lonely liberal men in the world must be high because between James O’Keefe OMG, Project Veritas and now Stephen Crowder there seems to be a limitless supply of such men willing to spill their guts to a honey pot who shows interest in them. Hey somebody has to be paying the money to those only fans models.
I think it’s no coincidence that the rise in antisemitism and the attempts to re-write the history of World War 2 (particularly the holocaust) are taking place when the youngest world war 2 vets alive are 97 years old. You don’t have a Dick Winters to come on TV to call them out anymore.
The best move that Dwight D Eisenhower ever did was making every US soldier who was able to see the camps so they couldn’t be denied. I distinctly remember Andy Rooney talking about seeing the camps one day but I (unexpectedly) can’t find the video anywhere.
The Red Sox broke their losing streak by beating the worst team in baseball history The 2024 Chicago White Sox whose current winning Percentage (.225) is a full .025 points behind the legendary 1962 Mets (.250). With 20 games to go The White Sox will have to go 9-11 to avoid the new “Worst Team EVAH!” title (.450). I just don’t see that happening.
Speaking of the NY Mets winning percentage from 2017 – 2023 the Indiana Heat of the WNBA have a combined winning percentage equal to those 62 Mets (58-74) with no playoff appearances, no winning records. In 2022 their winning percentage was .139 (5-31). This season they have clinched one of the 8 playoff spots currently holding 6th but mathematically could still finish as high as 4th or as low as 7th. That’s how much of an impact has Caitlyn Clark has on her Indiana Fever team. That’s a Babe Ruth class impact.
To put that last phrase in context in the 12 season years before Babe Ruth joined the NY Yankees (Highlanders till 1913) they had managed only two winning seasons. Not only would they would not have a losing record with Ruth on the roster (1918-1934) but the Babe would not live to see them have a losing season. He would die in 1948 and they would not have a losing season until 1965
In my 1972 online baseball league by all rights the Cleveland Indians season should be finished. They sit at 68 – 80 with 14 to play 7 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins who currently hold the final wild card spot in the AL. However not only have the Twins been collapsing spectacularly (2-8 in last 10) but they get three head to head games vs them next with a chance to get themselves back in it and have a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way. Alas for them the only team with an easier schedule, are those same Twins.
Finally the NFL season has started and will have their first full set of games this Sunday. They opened with the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Baltimore Ravens setting Patrick Mahomes on the path to another playoff season. How Dominant is Mahomes he has only lost 3 playoff games in his career and only one to a quarterback not named Tom Brady. How dominant are the pair of them? More than half of the Superbowls played in the 21st Century have had at least one of them playing in it (Brady 10, Mahomes 4) and the soonest that can no longer be true is 2027.
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