Briefly.
So some Patriots are skipping the White House visit. BFD!
Trivia: Tough one. What were the last two NBA teams to trade a player they drafted who also won Rookie of the Year?
If the Cubs’ lineup doesn‘t scare enough people, last year their pitchers led the majors in hits.
A lot of hype on Andrew Benintendi. He apparently put on a lot of muscle in the off-season and is pegged for the 2-hole. He seems like he has a good head on his shoulders. Let’s hope so.
I read an article about Gary DiSarcina, the (new) pride of Billerica and new Red Sox bench coach. What I found most interesting were his job responsibilities surrounding what may be obvious to some, but overlooked by the majority. DiSarcina plans many meetings. Those amongst coaches, players, both, etc. Players learn about media training, domestic violence, philanthropy, personal finances and many other “life” topics. Spring Training is not all about taking ground balls and practicing how to lay down a good sacrifice bunt.
Thank you Danny Ainge for not trading for Demarcus Cousins. Let New Orleans deal with his bullsh*t. Yes, he’s talented and he’s good, but you can have him! Since 2010-11 he leads the NBA in number of times fouling out, technical fouls and ejections. Also, DYK, he leads the league this year in getting his shot blocked. He’s 6’11” and admitted he can’t jump! What an athlete. (BTW, the Pelicans got smoked by the Rockets last night)
I learned a baseball term this past week that I hadn’t heard before, the “Golden Sombrero”. (Not to be confused with the Golden Shower) No, the Golden Sombrero is accomplished by striking out 4 times in one game.
Don’t forget, the Daytona 500 is this coming Sunday. In a related story, my wife renewed her inspection sticker this past week.
DYK – On both the Liberty Bell and in the Constitution, Pennsylvania is spelled “Pensylvania”.
The International Olympic Committee is due to meet in September to vote on the site of the 2024 Olympics, but if one more city drops out, they won’t need to. The Hungarian government confirmed on Wednesday that Budapest’s bid has been withdrawn, leaving just Paris and Los Angeles as the only remaining contenders. More than 250,000 Hungarians signed a petition calling for Budapest to drop out, saying the money would be better spent on hospitals and schools. Hmmm, smart people those Hungarians.
Sales of Sam Adams beer are down. I think it’s fair to note that the Garibaldi Club does not serve Sam Adams.
Thank you Danny Ainge again for not making a trade for the sake of making a trade. For those of you who says he has no balls, he has bigger balls by not making a trade. Now all of the pressure is on him to produce. Not making a trade adds to that pressure. #18 is 2-3 years away. I can wait (assuming another Boston team wins a championship in the interim J)
In case you were wondering/worrying about Willie Nelson, thanks to a previous post here, he is returning to the stage.
Speaking of the Bruins, 5-1 since they shook up the locker room. Give the credit to new coach Cassidy or the locker room shakeup, whatever. It’s working so far. Battle your way into the playoffs (still a possibility), hope Tuukka gets hot and glorious things can happen.
Rick Ankiel, the former pitcher-turned-outfielder from the Cardinals (amongst a handful of other teams), revealed in his upcoming book; “The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life” that he drank vodka before his first two starts in 2001. Now I can see drinking a few beers before pitching a high school game (oops, did I say that out loud?), but vodka before an MLB game???
Jimmy Garappolo. All I can say is “buyer beware”. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a Jimmy G fan. But he’s played what, 4-5 regular season games in his career and 2-3 this past season where he couldn’t even stay healthy! I give you Matt Cassell. I give you Brock Osweiler. Some team could easily get burned dishing out big bucks for JG.
For you Haverhillites… Every so often the local news rag puts out the list of area all-time, high school track & field records. The one that always stands out to me is Matt Battistini’s shot put record of 60’5” from 1978. No other record comes close to that in terms of longevity. But no more. Matt Batt’s record has fallen to Phillips’ Noah Ward who reigns from North Hampton, NH. Joe recently had a throw of 63’! Hats off to him.
So the UConn women basketball team has surpassed 100 wins in a row! Truly incredible! The other night they doubled-up #23 Temple by a score of 90-45 for their 102nd in a row. I don’t care if you’re a women’s basketball fan or not: The streak started on 11/23, 2014 during a 38-1 season. They are 147-1 in their last 148. All but three wins have been by double-digits. 57 victories by at least 40 points. 28 wins over ranked teams, 9 over top 5 opponents. 2 national titles during the streak.
So MLB is shorting games by eliminating the 4-pitch intentional walk, and just putting the batter on base – no pitches. Past balls and batters reaching over the plate really only happens in the lower levels but really, saving about 2-3 minutes??? DYK, perhaps the most significant intentional walk involved relief pitcher Brian Bogusevic, now a non-roster invitee in Red Sox spring training, of the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Falmouth had reached the best-of-three Cape Code League championship against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Yarmouth-Dennis had won game 1 and forced extra innings in the second game thanks to a late rally. The Sox put runners on second and third with one out in the 11th inning prompting Falmouth’s manager to intentionally walk the next hitter. Bogusevic’s first pitch sailed over the catcher’s head and the go ahead run scored from third.
So, have you seen the picture of 63-year old Christie Brinkley in the SI swimsuit issue???
Joe Castiglione, aside from being a Red Sox radio announcer, also teaches a course in Sports Broadcasting at Northeastern. Don Orsillo was once a student and broadcast booth intern.
Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, president of Iceland, does not like pineapple on his pizza.
Trivia answer: The Philadelphia 76ers traded Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams in 2015 and the Sacramento Kings traded 2010 ROY Tyreke Evans in 2013. (sorry, tough one)
“Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it’s all right”
Ed's Head On Friday 