Briefly. (maybe next week)
Gas prices are so high the mailman is working from home. He called me yesterday to read my bills to me.
So, when I was doing that ‘work thing’, I got these posts out pretty early in the morning. Now, I find myself racing to do the same. Hence, numerous typos and erroneous factoids. I’ve got to clean it up so, if the posts aren’t as early as in the past…
Having said that, from last week’s post, 7% of high school athletes go on to play in college, only 1-2% play for D1 schools. And for you locals, Uncle Billy O’Brien did not play for the Amesbury Maples (I should have done the math), but his father did.
Trivia #1: Who is Scooby Wright?
Trivia #2: Who I Miki Suto?
Trivia #3: Over this past weekend, what was 5th on the list of most popular bets for online customers behind baseball, tennis (Wimbledon), basketball and soccer?
Trivia #4: Baker Mayfield is 4th for the Cleveland Browns in all-time passing yardage. Who are the first three? – Vinny Testaverde, Bernie Kosar, Otto Graham, Brian Hoyer, Tim Couch, Brian Sipe, Frank Ryan
Article I’ll skip: Aaron Rodgers gets first ‘deep and meaningful’ tattoo with astronomical elements
They said it: “The Pac-12 without USC and UCLA is like the American League of baseball without the Yankees and the Red Sox” – Bob Hertzel of The Times (West Virginia)
This week’s sign of the apocalypse: If you did put a little action on this year’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest and you took Joey Chestnut’s over at 74.5 (he ate 63), help is on the way. Some sportsbooks are issuing refunds to ‘over’ bettors due to a protester who rushed the stage and was subsequently roughed up by Chestnut. The assumption here is that the interaction, albeit brief, potentially impacted the results.
The Sox are in the midst of 14 games vs Tampa Bay and the yankees, leading up to the all-star break. The Red Sox play 40% of their remaining games against the AL East. Wow!
This week’s sign of the apocalypse, part deux: Megan Hess ran the Sunset Mesa funeral home and a human body parts business called Donor Services from the same building in Colorado. She admitted in federal court on Tuesday to defrauding at least a dozen families who wished for their loved ones to be cremated. Court records show her body dealer firm harvested heads, spines, legs and arms, and then sold them – mostly for surgical and educational purposes.
The Browns’ Baker Mayfield has been shipped to the Panthers. Who do the Panthers open the season against? You guessed it, the Browns.
I’m going to miss the Baker Mayfield commercials.
Let it be.
Just a little politics… The Justice Department is suing Arizona over a law that is slated to take effect next year that would require voters to provide proof of American citizenship to cast ballots in federal elections. Said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; “Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters…” Help me out here, why is requiring proof of American citizenship an “unnecessary requirement?”
I don’t care how many times you’ve been there, imagine playing your way into the Wimbledon semi-final only to pull out with an abdominal tear? Rafael Nadal, you’re bummin’.
Guy #1: I’m addicted to buying old Beatles records.
Guys #2: Sounds like you need help.
Guy #1: No, I already have that one.
The USFL has an interesting alternative to the onside kick. The team that scored can, instead of kicking off, choose to try to convert a fourth-and-12 from their own 33-yard-line. If they convert, they keep the ball. If they don’t, the other team gets the ball at the spot of the play. I like it!
R.I.P. James Caan (82) – One of the signature stars of 1970’s Hollywood starring as Santino “Sonny” Corleone in The Godfather. The American actor/director starred in numerous films during a career that lasted from 1963-2021. DYK: During the peak years of his stardom, this actor had rejected a series of starring roles in movies that went on to become big hits for other actors. Some of these films were ‘The French Connection’, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’, and ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’
R.I.P. Bradford Freeman (97) – The last of the “Band of Brothers”, East Company, 101st Airborne. He jumped into Normandy on D-Day at age 19 and participated in every major battle with his unit. He was portrayed in the mini-series as James Farmer.
Trivia #1 answer: Who is Scooby Wright? – Linebacker for the Birmingham Stallions who had a late pick-six to ensure the Stallions victory over the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL Championship game.
Trivia #2 answer: Who I Miki Suto? – The female winner of Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. She ate 40 dogs for the win.
Trivia #3 answer: Over this past weekend, what was 5th on the list of most popular bets for online customers behind baseball, tennis (Wimbledon), basketball and soccer? – Bets on Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest
Trivia #4 answer: Baker Mayfield is 4th for the Cleveland Browns in all-time passing yardage. Who are the first three? – Vinny Testaverde, Bernie Kosar, Otto Graham, Brian Hoyer, Tim Couch, Brian Sipe, Frank Ryan – Brian Sipe, Otto Graham and Bernie Kosar are 1 thru 3.
Be careful out there. (It’s a jungle!)
Happy National Day!
Responding to a request, I am providing a link to the song below and will do this weekly. I hope you enjoy.
“Hello there, my old friend
Not so long ago it was til the end
We played outside in the pouring rain
On our way up the road we started over again
You’re living our dream oh you on top
My mind is aching, Lord it won’t stop
That’s how it happens living life by the drop”
– Stevie Ray Vaughn
Ed's Head On Friday 