Title Town, baby!

Welcome to LV Title town, baby!  We always thought LA was our Title town but there are not many resident titles in LA recently.  The Dodgers and Lakers each got one in 2020.  It was in the shroud of COVID and there were no parades or visits to the White House. They were championships that were celebrated in mute mode.  We have been bragging about our Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup and the Aces WNBA title in 2022-23.  The champion of the NFL will be awarded the Lombardi trophy in Las Vegas in February 2024.  There will be a Formula One Champion in Las Vegas this coming Saturday night.  There will be a National Finals Rodeo Champion in December at the Thomas and Mack. And there will be a World Beer Pong Champion awarded at South Point when they can get it scheduled.  What other US city has a slate like that?

 

Congratulations to the Texas Rangers winning the first title in franchise history.  It had been a 63-year drought covering two cities, Washington, DC, and Arlington, TX.  The Washington Senators were founded in 1961 as an American League expansion team in our Nation’s capital.  It looked good on paper, but the Senators never drew more than 918,000 or won more than 86 games in a season.  The season they achieved both of those accomplishments was in 1969 with Ted Williams skippering the team in his fourth and final season.  The DC Senators became Texas Rangers in 1972 and drew even less fans for their first two summers in DFW.  The franchise finally made their first playoff appearance in 1996 in their 37^th season. Ivan Rodriguez was the leader of those teams.  It would be another decade before the Josh Hamilton-Ian Kinsler runs of back-to-back WS losses.

 

The Rangers needed some voodoo to get them over the top. In 2011, the Rangers just outs away from the title, the Cardinals snatched Game 6 and flattened TX in Game 7.  Tony LaRussa became a legend joining Sparky Anderson as the only managers to win titles in both the AL and NL.  That 2^nd LaRussa title has haunted the Rangers and the ghosts of George Bush until this season’s day of the dead.  The story begins finding their savior, retired and fishing in Tennessee hanging with grandkids.  Bruce Bochy had accomplished more than but a rare few.  He got the Padres to their second world series and always had scrappy competitive teams. The Giants poached Bochy from the Friars, and everything came together for Bochy and the Giants in 2010.  Just like the Rangers, the Giants had not won a title in nearly 60 years.  The Giants had never won a title since moving to San Francisco.  Bochy led them to the first of three titles in five years. The Yard constantly poked the melon atop Bochy’s lumbering frame.  His hands can make a baseball disappear.  It was tough to witness the SF titles in the moment but now it is legend. An old legend now, Giant fan.

 

The Rangers celebrated their WS title on the day when a historic name in franchise history passed to Cooperstown in the sky.  Frank “Hondo” Howard died on October 30, 2023.  Howard was a 6’7” 275 Bunyanesque character in baseball folklore.  Howard came up in the Dodger organization.   Hondo was a left fielder and first baseman who was the NL rookie of the year in 1960.  He was on the 1963 Dodger team that swept the Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford Yankees.  The only other time the Yankees were swept in the WS was in 1922 by the NY Giants baseball team.  We digress, Howard batted .300 and had an HR in the series.  He ended up with the Washington Senators for several seasons.  He enjoyed some of his biggest seasons playing for Ted Williams.  Frank averaged 40 HR, 103 RBI’s while batting .280 from 1967-71. Howard made approximately $770K in his career.  He was making $125K annually during his best stretch.  Yard Staff is trying to use some of our new AI software to see if we could recreate his career if it happened now and the financial impact on his family.  Our office copier and coffee maker have started to become surprisingly militant and we have moved these devices off WIFI. Back to the Howards, he is inducted into the Washington Nationals Ring of Honor.  He never played for the Nats, who the former Montreal Expos are.  He did play baseball in our nation’s capital!  RIP Frank Howard!

 

Overtime: The Big Ten conference dropped the hammer on Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh last Friday night.  While the Wolverines’ charter was in the air, the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for the balance of the regular season.  Michigan was accused of actively scouting teams and stealing signs in real time.  This is a violation of conduct and ethics in Big Ten bylaws.  So is due process, which Michigan was given none.  The story was in the wind for weeks but why the timing.  It was unfair to Michigan; it was unfair to Penn State.  Harbaugh spent the evening with his team in Happy Valley.  Harbaugh can motivate a team without martyrdom at stake. The PSU faithful, the largest crowd ever at Beaver stadium suffered through their demise to the Wolverines hellfire.

 

The Classic Fall

The fall Israel tour for US Politicians exploded while our congress could not find a speaker for our house.  Everyone needed to get over to Israel to do their own research and show support.  How about we all get busy and get something done in Washington?  The atrocities in Israel and Gaza are scary but well reported.  NBC’s Richard Engel has been on the phone with Hamas on the air, call him.  We have had governors and senators alike make a beeline to the war zone.  It is important to show support to their registered voters. The abomination that is the US congress requires immediate attention also. How the hell did Matt Eddie Munster Gaetz get to call the shots? He is creepy as f--. These elected officials had been unable to form a working government for weeks.  We look like Italy for god’s sake.

 

The best distraction from these domestic and global maladies is also the most glorious occasion of the Yard sports calendar.  The World Series is imminent with a new champion certain to be crowned.  The WNBA season just wrapped with another title for our Las Vegas Aces.  The reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights have opened their 2023-24 NHL campaign with the best start ever by a defending champion, 7-0. The NBA commenced this week with the Nuggets beating the Lakers. UCLA is winning and USC not as much. The NFL is starting to get exciting, Raiders not so much.  U2 christened the Sphere, and we are just getting started.

 

The 2022 champion Astros were vanquished by their fellow Texans, the Rangers.  Houston for all their trash can lid cheating at the 2017 WS, did not win a home game during this ALCS.  The Dodgers did not win a home game either, but they did not make the NLCS this year, next blog. Disappointing finish for the Dodgers but the baseball playoffs have been exciting.  The Yankees, Red Sox, Giants and Padres were disappointed spectators.  The Rangers run to the World Series was not widely anticipated.  They had not made the playoffs since 2016.  They paid a whole bunch of dough for the oft injured Corey Seager.  Things jelled this year with Bruce Bochy coming out of retirement to change the narrative.  Yard staff was never kind to Bochy’s oversized pumpkin head, his distinctive waddle to the mound, or his postgame mumble but he is the quiet genius of baseball clubhouses.  He was masterful during the Giant’s surprising run nearly a decade ago. Bochy managed the 1998 San Diego Padres to the World Series before being swept by the New York Yankees.  He is among the elite for post season brilliance. Yard staff hates to see Corey banging leadoff home runs for another team.  He is a first class player and sorely missed in LA.

 

The Diamondbacks march to the WS was nothing short of unbelievable.  They were in first place in June.  They were in third place and under .500 in July.  They won 84 games just enough into the playoffs.  Arizona did not know they had fans until they won something important.  It had been over 20 years.  Phoenix is a swirling vortex of sports mediocrity most of the time, but this is big.  We are happy for the Snakes and will root for the Rangers.

 

The Yard is putting most of our promotional budget into a Las Vegas Aces 2-time WNBA Champions awareness campaign.  The WNBA has evolved into a highly entertaining, competitive summer alternative.  The season is 40 games and Las Vegas went 34-6.  The playoffs are the first team to eight wins and the Aces raced it 8-1.  They were first in offense and first in defense putting together one of the greatest seasons in the league’s 26 years.  The core group are all in their 20’s and under contract for three more seasons.  Kelsey Plum is a well-documented Yard fave.  Aja Wilson had a legendary game four.  Playing 39 of the 40 minutes, Wilson logged 24 points and 16 boards against the massive NY Liberty front line.  The Aces lost two starters in game three and were huge underdogs on the road.  To underscore an earlier point for WNBA relevance, there were 18,000 New York basketball fans at game 4 in the Barclay Center in Brooklyn.  The New York Liberty are the most successful professional basketball franchise in the region.  They were world class pouters in defeat.  Sabrina Ionescu gave her Steph Curry “night, night” signature celebration after winning game three.  The Aces stuffed it down her angelic throat in front of another 18,000 in game four and on social media every chance they get.  Little Sabrina refused to meet with the media following the game. Boohoo!

 

USC football fans were piqued for a championship season.  Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman winner, and Lincoln Riley the offensive guru would return Troy to the mountaintop. Expectations are always difficult to fulfill especially for USC fan.  The past 20 years for UCLA fan have recalibrated our expectations.  We have lowered the bar fast knowing the sad costs of a premature raise. In 2023, USC has been middling at best and their season is slipping beyond national title repair.  UCLA does have a top defense this year for the first time in decades. USC, with two ugly losses and a near loss in the desert, they can only hope to beat UCLA to salvage the season. UCLA is one win from bowl eligible which was never to be proclaimed on high but kind of cool.  Deion is bringing his megawatts Colorado Buff’s into the Rose Bowl on Saturday night.  The Buff megawatts might be a bit shady of late, but it should be a litmus test for the Bruins hope for a brighter future.  

 

Last Aces Note: The Aces historic WNBA season has largely gone unnoticed outside of Las Vegas.  This team is special and may three-peat.  The genius behind their consecutive titles is their coach, Becky Hammon.  Raider owner Mark Davis owns the Aces as well.  He recruited Becky from being a bench assistant with the San Antonio Spurs to being the highest paid coach in the WNBA.  It was one of his best investments.  She is an intense hooded fury pacing the sidelines during a game.  She made all the right adjustments when two starters went down in game three.  She plugged in Cayla George who had not played in the playoffs and told her to shoot and keep shooting.  She missed seven three pointers, but she hit the first three and it changed the game. Tom Brady bought into the future and it is as bright as our Sphere.  Ms. Hammon is on track to becoming the first female head coach of a men’s professional team.

 

Last notes:  The state of Nevada had never won any professional titles before the Aces won their first title in 2022.  There were not any professional teams in Nevada for most of sports history.  We have suggested that the 1990 UNLV Runnin Rebels were close to professional. In 2023, Las Vegas is becoming the sports capital of the nation.  Las Vegas professional sports teams have three titles in 2022-23.  We are still researching but we do not believe any other city can make that claim.  Lord Stanley’s trophy was a big deal, and we hope for another. These back-to-back WNBA titles have ignited the city. Besides the actual Super Bowl game, the most visited location for the SB is Las Vegas.  In 2024, the SB will be here, and it is going to be schizophrenic.  

Witches and Warriors

Donald’s witches opened a new coven in Atlanta this past week.  He has more witches after him than were ever burned at the stake.  His man crush, Vlade Putin, has his own swirling vortex of misdeeds and deceit.  In 2020, Trumpy tried to finesse the Georgia general election result into a victory for him.  He is the author of the Art of Deal, so he figured he was just trying to close this deal any way possible.  Do not surrender even when you don’t have the votes?  Putin has his own sorcerers stirring their cauldron since the Wagner dude went down in his private jet. Yard staff cannot spell his name so we will call him Curly.  Curly was the stooge that started the mutiny against the Kremlin.  All was seemingly forgiven until they blew up his plane last week.  Putin says he had nothing to do with it and the west is to blame.  In the immortal words of George Costanza, “Remember, it is not a lie if you believe it.”

 

Relocating to the PNW for the summer, has been a geospatial magical mystery tour on many levels. While 90% of the US witnessed climate change, on San Juan Island the windows are open, and the Rose is chilled.  Yard staff had no idea that Pete Carroll had drafted Zach Carbonnet to play for the Seahawks.  Zach is tearing it up as he did the past two seasons at UCLA. The Hawks also signed an undrafted Jake Bobo.  Bobo was a downfield warrior in Chip’s offense after transferring from Duke. Seattle still has a daily sports page and Bobo is getting some ink. PNW Little League made it to LLWS Semi Finals which enthralled the region.  The Yard was cheering for El Segundo, CA the eventual World Champion.  We worked in El Segundo for five years so this was not a bandwagon situation.  And not to be left out of the local sports discussion, the Mariners have stormed into the lead in the AL West.  These young Mariners vaulted the state of TX to tie for the lead at this moment.  Whether they can keep pace with Dusty’s Astros or Bochy’s Rangers will be their sojourn.  Houston and Texas were busy at the trade deadline.  The Mariners were not sure if they were buying or selling and ended up doing little.  September gets interesting.  The Padres wealthy starters will get extra rest this fall without the stress of playing for the championship.  The Giants and Arizona are keeping their fans marginally interested much like their teams.  In the AL race, go Mariners!

 

The Little League WS launches every summer in Williamsport, PA. It was first televised in 1963.  It is one of the Yard’s favorite August events along with the celebration of my birth.  ABC/ESPN has done a wonderful job sharing the games and the stories.  Cody Bellinger starred in the PSWLL.  Michael Conforto played in the Little League WS, College WS and MLB WS between 2004-2015! Harper, Joey Gallo, and Kris Bryant played LL in Las Vegas at the same time but did not make this little dance. George and Ken Brett both started playing baseball in El Segundo The long-haired lefthander from Texas was dynamic in defeat.  He will be a rock star when the next school year commences. Louis Lappe could be someone to watch in the next decade.  He hit 5 HRs in the LLWS including the walk-off World Championship winner. He lasered it right out on the second pitch he saw in the bottom of the sixth. Few of these youngsters will still be playing baseball a decade from now but this weekend is already beyond their dreams. All hail El Segundo no longer the second but now World Champions, real World Champions.

 

Extra Innings: Markus Lynn Betts aka Mookie is the MVP this year in the National without question. Mookie was having a pretty good year until the season got real.  At a time when the rest of the NL west is fading, Betts is a warrior. Betts was batting .279 on 8/1/23.  He is hitting .315 tonight.  It is not easy improving your batting average 26 points in August.  He does it with speed, power, and a megawatt smile.  Everyone stops whatever they are eating or drinking when he comes to bat because he is always exciting even when striking out.  Against the Padres this year, when the Padres were still a thing, Mookie threw out a runner at third in the 7^th in a flash.  It seemed like an optical illusion, but the replay proved out.  Then in the 9^th with the game in the balance, Mookie was moved to second base and made a brilliant pivot and throw to first base to end the game.  He would end the Padres season a few weeks later with a Grand Salami.  With Freddie batting .328 right behind him, he has ten leadoff home runs in 2023.  They are the best first two hitters in any lineup and boast a +152-run differential.  The playoffs will be exciting again for the driven.  Mookie has nothing to prove but he plays every day like he has everything to prove.