All Hail South Side Bobby

An outbound shart was intercepted before it hit cotton with a quick clench Sunday morning.  It was a symbolic event on the 45^th anniversary of Mt. Saint Helens eruption.  Helen did not clench that day, and it forever changed the region. The stakes were minimal Sunday but a laundry crisis with the missus was averted.

The World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers just got swept at Chavez Ravine by the Los Angeles Angels from Anaheim. Mike Trout was not playing, while Ohtani was. With their off season moves and a WC in the bag, the Dodgers should be ahead by 5-6 games by now. We figured out a magic number by mid-July.  Swept by the moribund Angels of Arte Moreno at home is alarming.  We think Dave Roberts' job is safe for now.

The world had the shock and awe of South Side Bobby Prevost becoming the first American pope in Catholic church history.  Pope Leo is an Augustine for the world with his dual American and Peruvian citizenship. No one ever thought that an American born priest could ever be the pope.  America already tried to influence everything else globally, but the church has remained provincial.  Now if we can get an American’s Men Soccer team to do something in the World Cup, that would be something!

Decades ago, the NFL broadcast networks realized that female sideline reporters had a better chance of getting a head coach to stop and talk rather than a dude in a suit.  Female reporters are very qualified in their efforts but there is not an on-camera slouch in the bunch.  It seems like President Trump has used these qualifications for his appointees. Tulsi Gabbard, Kristie Noem, Pam Biondi and Karoline Leavitt all play key roles and are camera friendly. We could not determine if Noem had fake eyelashes or hair extensions when she killed her dog, Cricket?  She has her smoky eye shadow and extensions when she stares into the TV while letting illegals know she is coming for them.  Trump does not care about approval ratings, but he does care about who he must look at in cabinet meetings.

The NFL has been at the top of the sports mountain top for public mindshare. They conquered TV over the decades. No other sport has the ratings numbers for just about any NFL game. A Jacksonville – Cleveland NFL skirmish will outdraw an NBA playoff game in viewership.  The Super Bowl has become a national day of excessive celebration.  It was no surprise that it was national news when the NFL released their schedule last week.  It was major news that the NFL released their 2025-26 Schedule five months before one of those games would be played.  Major networks' sports departments spent airtime analyzing this schedule before it is relevant.  The NBA Conference Finals, the Stanley Cup are in full swing.  Baseball is getting more interesting for some fans.  Quality airtime was given to discuss a football schedule without real games for months. Wow!

Here come the A's

Major league weekend comes to our minor league ballpark in Summerlin this weekend.  The Las Vegas ball field where the Aviators play is a gem in our community and excited for the games. Timmy aka Panda, Wayne and Brian are making the pilgrimage to Las Vegas to see the games.  These four amigos were regulars for AZ spring training before the Giants won a few titles.  The over-excited Bay area fan’s largesse over inflated the cost of the experience. The Athletics and Diamondbacks are also migrating to Summerlin for the event.  It will be a split squad game, and we hope we get the split with A's budding superstar Brent Rooker.  Rooker signed a 5-year $60,000,000 deal to be the mug of the franchise at least until they get to Vegas.  The Oakland Athletics will just be the Athletics this season without a city affiliation.  Sacramento is not part of the narrative beyond playing 2025-27 in the state’s capital.

The move to Las Vegas will be the A’s fourth move in franchise history. They were formed in 1901 in Philadelphia as a founding member of the American League.  The A’s would play for over 50 years in the City of brotherly love.  Connie Mack managed the team for 50+ years taking them to the apex of the game and down to the nadir of suffering.  The Philadelphia A’s of the late 1920’s and 30’s were a forgotten legend.  Everyone remembers the Bronx Bombers and their titles during the period. The A’s would largely be wiped from consciousness from the period because the Yankees were in NY.  Both teams would win three straight pennants and two WS titles.  Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane and Lefty Grove were all future HOF and members of those A’s teams. They won five WS titles in Philadelphia during the golden era from 1901-1931. Things went way below the Mendoza line in the 40 years that followed.  Their win percentage was .402 with 2,119 wins against 3,147 losses, The redemption sojourn would not be realized until the 3-peat of 1972-74 with Reggie, Catfish and Gene Tenace.  The bash brothers juiced another title in 1989 after the monumental Dodger upset in 1988. Ricky the legend Henderson was leading the charge,

The green and gold is coming to Las Vegas for the 2028 season. There are renderings of the new ballpark on the internet.  It looks like the Sydney Opera house.  When the Raiders came, they got their stadium and that is all there is there except for an In n Out. The baseball stadium will have a hotel and casino attached with all the trimmings. It will be a summer destination venue for many except maybe the Canadians. They might still be pissed off.  The A’s bring a rich MLB legacy that includes nine world series titles.  Tied for 3^rd place with the Red Sox.  There are over 30 HOF players who wore those garish uniforms.

The Luka-AD trade has sent Laker betting futures soaring.  The Lake show was +2500 at the beginning of the season. They were +1200 at the time of the trade.  They are now +600 and 4^th favorite to win another title.  The Kid and the King have meshed well when many thought they would clash. They play similar games and want the ball.  James has acquiesced the offense to Luka and the results have been extraordinary.  They have won 8 in a row and are 9-2 since the trade.  They lead the West by six with 20 games left.  Lebron is playing differently and more refreshed with Luka carrying more of the offense. AD was supremely talented and gifted but not a playmaker.  Davis did play defense, and the conjecture is Doncic does not. Luka is playing and AD is injured.  Kyrie “the world is flat” Irving went flat last week and is done. This trade may haunt the Mavericks for a decade.  After just missing an NBA title last year, they are probably missing the playoffs this year.  Nobody is buying Nico drinks anymore except his good friend Rob Pelinka.  He might be sending him champagne in June.

 

The March of the Madness

Government employees received emails last week requesting that they list five things that they had accomplished last week.  The indignation and outrage were fiercely immediate.  Elon the unelected was the originator of the request and spectrally deflected criticism. He has the president's benign support on this issue.  The Yard toiled for decades in the private sector.  Capricious demands for “What have you done for me lately?” were the norm.  Threats to future employment were shrouded in these missives.  The narrative is that the emails were to detect signs of life at the destination email. We would not retain anyone who could not bluff their way through that request in ten minutes or less.  The Yard made a career of it as several of my audience can attest, Buck up, @gov, deal.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had been a controversial nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services. His thoughts on vaccinations have been well documented.  He got the job and was on camera at the first cabinet meeting.  Bad day at the office when an unvaccinated child dies of measles right before your first press Opp in the new gig. These things happened and RFK Jr, graveled through his short comments about the occurrence. It is hard to imagine what his qualifications are besides bowing out of the primary at Trump’s behest. He has conducted personal research on most recreational drugs including heroin.  He has stated that he was a heroin addict for 14 years. He is no quitter that is for sure.  He certainly does not look very healthy with the two pack a day voice, bloodshot eyes hanging off his crimson mug.  Maybe just bad genes.  Heck, he roped Cheryl Hines into his orbit of the irrational. There must be something there, right?

The Dodgers have been busy this off season and the rest of the NL West appears to be happy fighting for a wild card berth.  The Dodgers stormed through the gates at Petco all the way to the World Championship, San Diego is still stunned. The Padres are wrapped up in a family legal battle that has stymied baseball operations. The Padres are Knott’s Berry Farm to the Dodgers Disney World. Go for the fried chicken not a WS title.  The D’Backs picked up Corbin Burns in a huge deal.  They were a player away from the title before missing the playoffs LY.  The Giants are stuck in 81-win hell.  Hiring Posey might be a good start but so did the last three GM’s hirings. The Rockies might get dropped out of the Champion’s League after this year if they do not win 60.

Baseball is still on the horizon.  The NBA is edging towards seasonal relevance. Hockey is nearing beast mode. For March, it is all about the Madness.  College basketball will demand our attention for the next five weeks. Fortunately, if asked, we already have our five accomplishments teed up for each week in March. There are several exceptional teams this season with Alabama and Auburn taking that great state to a place typically reserved for football. UCLA is a solid six seed with a big win on Bill Walton Day last Saturday. Selection Sunday is March 16 with first round games the following Thursday.  It is the greatest sporting event every March.  If you are in a pool and your bracket survives the first weekend, even more fun.

The trade of the decade will be the jolt that Luka needs to take his career to the next level.  Watching Lebron James play each night must be enlightening for young Doncic.  The king is 15 years older than him and plays every night at a level that Luka can aspire to.  Kyrie was not a role model or a leader.  He is an outstanding offensive player who can carry a team for spurts. He can also say things that do not get him invited to team BBQ’s. Lebron has embraced LA.  He is a media mogul who is still a top ten player in the league. He can bring Luka under his cape and show him what the promised land should look like.  His legacy is not Bronny, it may be Doncic.

The Bill Walton Day was very special on network television of the UCLA-Ohio State game.  UCLA played up to Walton’s honor.  His legendary exploits were sprinkled through the broadcast.  One tidbit was Walton did not lose in High School, and he did not lose at UCLA until his senior year when the wheels fell off the big red head in a rebellious haze.  The Yard blog about Walton can be found here:

  https://tonyattheyard.blogspot.com/2024/05/21-notes-for-big-red.html