Pivot to Madness

On the one-year anniversary of their brute invasion, Russian leader Vladimir Putin declared that China and Russia are deepening their ties.  It was kind of a “Xi Jinping got my back” moment for Vlade.  He went on further to say their strengthening relationship will bring stability to the world. We have seen the world become increasingly unstable since Russia invaded Ukraine.  We do think the world would stabilize some if Vlade withdrew.  Russia and China have always been wary allies.  There is not an ideological bond except for the ruler for life bromance.  They are like the Gambino and Genovese families brokering a truce.  It works well for a while and then someone ends up with two slugs in the head at Humberto’s Clam House.  China and Russia blast the West. The US is China’s largest trading partner. China needs work for their 112 million factory workers. Average annual income in the US is $97K; Average annual income for a Russian household is $16K. Do the math.

 

Florida is a bastion of conservative values and politics.  Governor Ron DeSantis has a blunt force trauma personality.  He is pro-life, anti-Critical Race Theory and finished with the woke.  He will be throwing his cap into the ring as an electable version of Trump.  He and Trump despise each other, and the first debate will be a classic if Trump survives that long. The Yard was shocked to find that Florida is passing a law that dogs can no longer hang their heads out the window of a moving vehicle.  We reached out to all our reliable sources, and it is true, no more dog heads flapping in the wind out the car window. Ruh-Ro! It is a canine catastrophe. A shocking development for all Florida pooches.  The Dog Lobby is already barking it up the tree.  Rescue dogs are demanding to be relocated to states that allow them to put their heads out the window freely.  Cats have been clowning dogs for decades for their window antics.  They are pleased with this development as part of their world domination plans. It should be a hot topic come election season.

 

Since the inception of the Yard in 2007, our publishers have posted 185 missives on the internet.  There are countless others that are spoiled by procrastinating them into irrelevance. Many never made it from the bowels of the laptop to the HTTP.  The Yard has written more blogs about college basketball than any other.  UCLA did it to us with those miraculous teams of the late 60’s and 70’s. John R. Wooden was our Yoda.  We have travelled to a galaxy far, far away since those halcyon days. UCLA is back in the national discussion under the stellar coaching of Nick Cronin.  Cronin has brought Cincinnati toughness and discipline to the Bruins much the way Wooden brought Indiana discipline to the U in 1947.  Nick has a long way to go to be in the conversation of great UCLA hoops coaches, but we like his style.  The tournament is wide open this year.  Duke and North Carolina are finding their way after their legends retired. UCONN is back in the national mix for the first time in a long time.  Houston could be the real deal or poseurs.  Alabama basketball is playing better than the football team and that does not happen often.

 

In these turbulent times when the news always seems disturbing, the Yard suggests that you pivot your attention to the NCAA basketball tournament.  The tournament begins in earnest on March 16 at 9:15 AM Pacific.  There will be sixteen basketball games that day and another 16 on Saint Paddy’s day.  The games will be coast to coast and every hamlet in between.  Big schools like Purdue, UCONN and UCLA should be dancing that weekend.  There will be Bonnies, Screaming Eagles and maybe a Great Dane also.  There will be a Cinderella team this year, maybe to the finals. There will be upsets in the first round.  Brackets will be blown by the end of the first day.  There will be a last second game winner and critical missed free throws.  We can only hope the Bruins are on the positive side of those events on their march to Houston.  Even for the casual basketball fan the local energy and enthusiasm for these 68 schools is inspiring. Some of the blue bloods are bloated with NIL laden student athletes. The rest are there for the love of the game and their degree.  They will be taking their game to another level because they won’t be playing at the next level.  For three weeks in March, heroes are born through the legends they create. Join a pool and get some skin in the game. Every game will be televised.  Work and Vlade will still be there in April.