Montana Shack called me out a few episodes back regarding the political banter the Yard can take at times. He is one of my oldest friends and avid Yard subscriber, so I paid heed. The Yard has strayed from our basic tenets at times. It has been difficult to ignore the foibles of our current presidential candidates. It is a target rich environment with Mayor McCheese and Dozing Joe squaring off this fall. These septuagenarians will provide unusual theater this summer and fall. It is not 100% that they both will make it to the November election. It is turbulent times and Yard staff is working hard to shift the yacht back on course. Thanks for the feedback, Shack.
It is hard to ignore the US college campus turmoil. The House of Troy celebrated Caleb Williams being the first pick in the NFL draft the same week they cancelled their 2024 graduation. These seniors in 2024 are the same class that had their 2020 graduations COVID cancelled. It seemed like UCLA had avoided the morass until this week. It is unclear what the goal is on either side. Many world diplomats on all sides are trying to resolve the conflict. Students or opportunists are joining the fray to no end. These are disturbing images not seen since the 1970’s. The VietNam war was their common enemy and it was a consistent rallying cry for the generation of love. The police clashed with the local campuses until finally the National Guard was called in on some campuses. Kent State was one of those campuses that called in the Ohio National Guard. On May 4, 1970, at 12:24 PM, the guards fired 67 rounds into the rebellious crowd of 300. Miraculously, “only” four students died that day and nine were injured. It is a tragic reminder of what can happen when rebellious zealots threaten armed combatants. At press time, LAPD had reclaimed the UCLA quad.
Baseball is here and just in time. It is our national pastime, and we all need to pass some time these days. The Yard has espoused the virtues of baseball since our earliest missives. 2024 baseball is just the elixir our sports cocktail needed with a twist. The Spring training Ohtani gambling scandal looked like it might derail the Dodgers before they got on their rails. Ohtani, the Dodgers and MLB had a vested interest in blaming the interpreter. He was and it all has disappeared…for now. Shohei is blasting balls out of the yard at 118 mph, Mookie is off to his best start, and Will Smith is proving he is worth the big contract. The Dodgers have reclaimed LA from the Lakers. Staples, Crypto or whatever has more bronze statues, but the Dodgers are far more fun and entertaining.
The New York Yankees have been struggling to claim another title for over a decade. The franchise doubled down on Aaron Judge during last season’s free agent sweepstakes. Judge had a middling season LY, batting .267 while playing in 106 games. He was injured a bit and fortunately for A-dog, Yankee fans are a patient group, right? The Yankees hosted Aaron Judge Bobblehead night on April 24. The fans cheered the 6’7” Judge when he came to bat in the first inning waving their treasured bobbleheads before putting them on eBay. On his night, he struck out on four pitches on the first AB. He would strike out four times on his BB head night, seeing a total of 18 pitches, none of which was hit. Yankee fans were booing him after that last at bat. Only in NY.
The Lakers had owned the Denver Nuggets for decades in the playoffs. They seemed to play the Doug Moe coached Nugs every season in the Western Conference finals. The Lake show would win out and go onto the finals. Denver never did until the past two seasons. The Lakers all-time playoff record versus Denver is 26-16 which includes losing 8 of the last 9. LA cannot beat Denver in the regular season either having lost 11 in a row. Lebron is going to play 2-3 more years and wants to sign the max $134 million deal to play out those years. He is not making any comments or commitments currently. He is building a $100 million dollar compound in Los Angeles for his family. He wants to have oldest son Bronny to play with him at the next level. Considering Bronny did not really play at the last level, it is a leap. The Lakers will give Lebron whatever he wants to finish his career in LA. If James wants a statue out front, he needs to win a few more titles before it is over.
RIP Roman Gabriel. The flame throwing Pilipino was our first sports hero. The 6’5” 220-pound Gabriel was an anomaly back in those days. Big QB’s were not as common back then. He played ten seasons with the first edition of the Los Angeles Rams. From 1967 to 1970, Gabriel led the Rams to a 41–14–4 overall record and was named to three Pro Bowls during that four-year span. It always seemed that his huge frame was gobbled up by the Vikings purple people eaters every winter playing outdoors in the Minnesota snow.
RIP Whitey Herzog. Herzog guided the St. Louis Cardinals for over a decade. During his tenure, the Cards went to the WS three times and won one. Where Whitey lives in Yard psyche is 1985 when Tommy Lasorda pitched to Jack Clark with two and two out in a decisive game 6. Yard was playing hooky that day for the afternoon game. It was a brilliant day. The Dodgers jumped to an early lead and were one out from forcing game 7. With first base open, Lasorda decided to pitch to Clark and he lasered the first pitch into the seats for the game-winning three run HR. It was the agony of defeat in all its dimensions.
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