Author: fasted86

Briefly. (very)

Real baseball, next week.

Trivia #1: What school has never qualified for the men’s Final Four as an 11 seed: LSU, Gonzaga, George Mason, VCU?

Trivia #2: Easy for some, never for others. Who is Richard Starkey?

Useless information (headline) supposed to fire my imagination: “Why you microwave popcorn this side up”

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: Self-Driving Uber Kills Woman Crossing an Arizona Street

I know I’m not the only one who finds it ironic that Toys R Us founder, Charles Lazarus, died just one week after the toy store giant filed for bankruptcy.

The Bruins can win it with Tuukka.

Melt.

Quote of the week: “It’s unbelievable, just sickening.” – Scott Lake, a horse trainer at Parx race track in Bensalem, PA, after renowned jockey Jose Flores died after he went flying from his horse and landed on his head during a race at the park on Thursday. Flores’ career spanned three decades with over 4,600 wins.

A British moviegoer has died after a freak accident at Vue Cinema in Birmingham when his head became wedged under the electric footrest of a reclining “Gold Class” seat. The man, who was at the cinema with his partner, was trying to retrieve a phone he had dropped between the seats. Trying to retrieve a phone he dropped. Ya, right!

I felt this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was up for grabs and still took many top seeds in my bracket. Dope. (What a tournament though!)

Of the 132 Final Four teams since 1991, just 13 (9.8 percent) have been seeded seventh or worse. Last night two 9’s and an 11 won and qualified for the Elite 8.

Sorry to you NAZCAR fans but if I go for a jog/run, I am participating in a sport. It doesn’t matter how fast or far I go, running is a sport. Don’t tell me when I drive to work that I am participating in a sport.

Ozzy Osbourne, when incorrectly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1992, announced his first ‘No More Tours’ tour. It never happened. Now comes his farewell tour, ‘No More Tours 2’ starting next month. The world tour is set to end in 2020. (He’ll be at the Xfinity Center this Sept 6 if you’re interested)

Trivia #1 answer: Gonzaga

Trivia #2 answer: Richard Starkey is recently knighted Ringo Starr

“For long you live and high you fly
And smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry
And all you touch and all you’ll see
Is all your life will ever be

That’s all I’ve got.

Briefly.

#LydiaStrong – The Red Sox have been wearing T-shirts with this slogan in support of Craig Kimbrel’s daughter. Nice.

Trivia #1: How many number one seeds have won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament since the tournament expanded to 64 teams? 5, 11, 15, 19, 22, 25, 29, 30

Trivia #2: What school defeated all three other number one seeds on their way to the Championship? It’s only happened once.

Only once, 2008, have all four number one seeds advanced to the Final Four – Kansas, North Carolina, UCLS & Memphis.

Tiger, great tournament last weekend but all I’ll remember is his final putt coming up short on 18. Really?

East, West, South… and Midwest? Fix that.

That could be a problem, think? Ford is recalling nearly 1.4 million cars in North America because steering wheels are detaching from the steering column.

Speaking of making no sense whatsoever, there are 4 play-in games into the 64-team tournament. Two of those games are for 11th seeds. Makes zero sense.

Also, two play-in games were in the East Region, for the 11th and 16th seeds, while the South had no play-ins. Stupid.

Texas Southern, play-in, was 15-19 on the season.

Trivia #2 hint. It happened in 1997.

Texas and Texas Tech play in Dallas, UNC plays in Charlotte, Kansas plays in Wichita and Michigan St. plays in Detroit. Really not fair, should be neutral sites.

It’s not rocket science. Instead of running the list of school closings on the ticker at the bottom of the screen, you know, the one that takes about up to 20 minutes to get through all of the closings? Instead, why not list what is NOT closed? Assume all else is closed. Easy.

Quote of the week: “Don’t drive impaired. Till death do we part doesn’t need any help.” – Marana, Arizona Police Sgt. Chriswell Scott after arresting a bride-to-be for driving under the influence at 10:30am on Monday, en route to her own wedding.
Quote of the week #2: “Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.” – Stephen Hawking

R.I.P. – Patrick McNamara, HHS Class of ’84. Too young. You will be missed.

R.I.P. British physicist, Stephen Hawking (76). A brilliant man and a funny guy.

Trivia #1 answer: 19 number one seeds have won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament since expansion to 64 teams in 1985.

Trivia #2 answer: Arizona defeated Kansas, North Carolina & Kentucky, all number one seeds, in 1997.

DYK: From 1981-1986, The Stompers were voted by the Boston Globe the number one band in New England three times.

“My mama said “Now watch out boy you’re bound to get hurt”
Daddy said “Go have your fun but son for what’s it’s worth
Always keep her guessing, what’s going on inside”
Don’t ever tell an angel when you’re hearts on fire.”

Briefly. (very) 

Trivia: Three teams are tied for the worst record (winning percentage) in qualifying for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Name the three out of: Florida A&M, Holy Cross, UCF, Florida International, San Jose St., Fairfield, Prairie View 

Tough to see Fairfield and Haverhill’s Tyler Nelson go down in the Metro Atlantic Athletic conference, but the tears… really? DYK, Tyler is the leading scorer in school history! 

Running from the cops, you’re doing it wrong. Dashcam footage showed a Virginia man, who was allegedly fleeing from police, jumping out of his car without putting it in park. According to police, the car hit him but he was not seriously hurt. The man now faces drunk driving charges. 

From a friend, in the last three years Brad Marchand is tied for third in goals with Patrick Kane, second to Ovechkin in points per game and, since the Seguin trade Sequin is +11, Marchand is +111.

Have to give credit to Brad Stevens, again, for making adjustments after the all-star break. 

Amazing how many people still drive thru the drive-up at the coffee shop, when there is no power in town, as if it will mysteriously reopen as they go through.

Turn the clocks. Spring cometh. 

NCAA tournament starts Tuesday. Spring cometh. 

Less than a month until Opening Day. Spring cometh. 

Trivia answer: Tied at a 37.93% winning percentage are Florida International (1995), UCF (1996) & Fairfield (1997) 

“Winter tries to put us d-down,
Talkin’ ‘bout my generator,
Snow and wind are all around,
Talkin’ ‘bout my generator,
Things are awfully c-c-c-c-cold,
Talkin’ ‘bout my generator,
Hope I thaw before I get old,
Talkin’ ‘bout my generator,
My generator! My generator, ba-by!”

Briefly. 

Trivia: Difficult – Who hit the first MLB homerun in an indoor stadium. 

SportsBusiness Journal reports that the NBA is showing impressive gains in both national and local viewership this season. Nationally, NBA games on ABC, ESPN, NBA TV and TNT are showing double-digit viewership increases. Locally, the Celtics have showed the biggest percentage increase of all teams so far this year with an 82% lift on their games. Conversely, the NFL saw a drop of 9% this season and 8% the season prior, while college football viewership took a hit this past season with CBS, ABC, NBC, and ESPN all posting significant declines. 

On Sunday night’s “farewell to the Olympics”, Mike Tirico pointed out that, aside from the gold/silver/bronze medals that the USA won, they also finished 4^th or 5^th 26 times. Hey Mike, if you don’t medal, you don’t medal. No one cares who came in 4^th or 5^th. 

Trivia #1 hint: He hit it on the road during an exhibition game. 

Gronk’s retiring, Gronk’s not retiring. Yawn. 

You asked for it. The Tim Tebow update. OK no one really asked for it but… Tebow is with  the Mets in Port St. Lucie. He recently caught his foot on the sprinkler head at the training facility and sprained his ankle. He’s 30 years old! 

Headline of the week: A Texas woman defecated in her pants to hide drugs during an arrest. 

Here’s just another example of why W/L’s (for a pitcher) in baseball may be the most useless statistic. On Sunday the Red Sox beat the Orioles 7-1. Carson Smith got the “W”. He pitched one inning and let up two hits and the only run. He got the win because he happened to pitch the 5^th inning when the Sox scored three runs to go up 4-1. Six others pitched, each either one or two innings. Two of them each let up one hit, the others – no hits. 

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: “Transgender boy wins girls’ state wrestling title for second time” 

Of the 44 starters in this year’s Super Bowl, 16 were drafted in the third round or later and 11 went undrafted. 

Jersey Street. Puh-lease! 

Last week, Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi announced that the flu medication they have developed, Xofluza otherwise known as baloxavir marboxil, has been approved to be manufactured and sold in Japan. Compared to Tamiflu, which requires two doses each day for five days, apparently only a single dose of Xofluza will be needed to treat the flu. 

Quote of the week: “Good, better, best. ‘Til your good is better and your better is best.” – St. Jerome 

Trivia answer: Mickey Mantle hit the first indoor homerun in the first-ever game played in Houston’s Astrodome. 

“Let me flow into the ocean,
Let me get back to the sea.
Let me be stormy and let me be calm,
Let the tide in, and set me free.”

Briefly.

Trivia #1: What country has won more gold medals in the Winter Olympics than any other?

Trivia #2: Who holds the Red Sox record for total bases in one game, and how many? 

Regarding kneeling for the National anthem. Is it any less disrespectful that some fans chose not to remove their hats? The focus at the NBA All-Star game was on the horrendous rendition by Fergie when in fact they should have been commenting on the punks with their hats on. 

Speaking of the NBA All-Star game, if you didn’t change the channel during the pregame show then I can never watch television with you. You should be ashamed of yourself for watching that crap. 

I just like to say “PyeongChang.” 

As mentioned, I am not a fan of anything figure skating but regret missing out on the Ivett Toth show. The female Hungarian performed to AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and “Thunderstruck” clad in a studded leather pant-vest combo with fingerless gloves. On the back of her vest was a picture of Angus Young in his signature playing pose. 

Useless information, period. Former Red Sox outfielder Bryce Brentz and his wife had their first child, a daughter, last Tuesday. The baby’s name is Everlee Marie. Bryce and his Dad both share the same middle name, Everett. Lee is Brentz’s grandfather’s middle name (his mother’s side of the family) and Bryce’s wife Ann Marie and others in her family share the same middle name, Marie. DYK, Bryce hit 31 homeruns in the minors last season, mostly in Triple A. 

The Bruins outshot Vancouver 18-8 in the first period last week and were down 4-0. Overall they outshot them 45-23 and lost 6-1. No, Tuukka did not finish the game. On the other hand, they had a great west coast trip and are one of four teams (as of Thursday) with more than 80 points. The others? Hockey hotbeds Nashville, Tampa and Vegas. 

Headline of the week: “Florida man attacks gas station clerk with hot dogs, corn stick over beer” 

USA’s Ryan Donato, ex-Bruin Ted’s son, scored five goals in five Olympic games for Team USA. Speaking of which, what a shame that the women’s gold medal rematch between Team USA and Canada started at 10:45pm Wednesday night. USA won in a shootout, Canada’s first loss in 20 years. As the team took the podium (Canada), several were crying and one took off her silver medal. Spoiled bitches! 

I was thinking, “Hunter” is an interesting name. Having said that, I can’t say I’ve ever met anyone named “Hunted.” 

How do you not root for Lindsey Vonn? She took a bronze in the downhill. The oldest female (33) to medal at the Winter Olympics. 

Watch for Belichick to sign ex-Texan, linebacker Brian Cushing. Now 31 and twice suspended for substance abuse, was released this past week. 

Cheating, you’re doing it wrong. Russian Olympian Alexander Krushelnitshy tested positive for a banned substance, meldonium. He is now likely to be stripped of the bronze medal he won with his wife in PyeongChang. The sport you ask? Curling! He took a banned substance and he’s a curler?!?!? Dude! 

PyeongChang, PyeongChang, PyeongChang, PyeongChang – hahahaha! 

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: Sales of bulletproof backpacks spike after school massacre. (This was reported by “Bullet Blocker”, a Lowell, MA company that manufactures the backpacks.) 

Hooray! Amongst the few rule changes coming for the 2018 MLB season, teams can only visit the mound six times per nine innings. This includes position players who can still chat with the pitcher, as long as they don’t “relocate.” So no more catcher visiting the pitcher 5+ times per inning (or per at-bat!). I love it! 

This past Monday Brad Stevens spoke at the Red Sox’ first “company meeting” at JetBlue Park. 

Trivia #1 answer: Norway has won more gold medals (107) than 100 countries have total medals.

Trivia #2 answer: Freddie Lynn (’75) with 16. 

“Like a lazy flowing river
surrounding castles in the sky
and the crowd is growing bigger
List’nin’ for the happy sounds
and I got to let them fly.”

Briefly. 

Trivia: What four universities boast having as alum both a Super Bowl winning quarterback and a US president? (Bonus, of course, to name the actual alum) 

I’ll admit, I am not the biggest Paul Pierce fan. Never was. Still, I give him a lot of credit for his speech during his number-retirement ceremony. He was humble and genuinely appreciative. 

Regarding the Pierce ceremony. If I was a fan at that game, I’d a been bullsh!t. Not only did the Celtics get steamrolled by the Cavs, LeBron and Kyrie did not play in the 4^th quarter. Those fans were forced to sit through that debacle, then hang around for the ceremony which in itself took nearly an hour. All this on a Sunday, late afternoon/early evening. Wow! 

One more on Pierce. The Truth. The biggest non-nickname in the history of sports. I mean, who refers to him as The Truth? I think the announce-guy does. His teammates don’t. Mike Gorman doesn’t. Tommy Heinsohn doesn’t. The only time you heard the nickname during his career was when the Celts were down late and they played the scene from A Few Good Men – “You can’t handle the truth!” – and they put the spotlight on Pierce. Really, it was not really a nickname or, if anything, a nickname rarely used. 

After intense flooding in New Orleans last summer there has been a large effort to clean the city’s waterways. As a result more than 46 tons of plastic beads have been pulled from a 5-mile stretch along the Mardi Gras parade route. 

Is it just me? Of all the winter Olympic events, I feel I could grab a cooler and any one of my buddies, and win a curling match. Hell, I’ve play bocce and I’ve swept a floor! The cooler really goes without sayin’… 

Shaun White, I was rooting for him. But really, he ruined a great Olympic moment with the whole flag thing. 

What does Red Sox radio announcer Tim Neverette do during the offseason? I caught him last night doing UMass/BC hockey on NESN. 

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: Monopoly Cheater’s Edition will be released this fall with new rules and gameplay elements in which fans are encouraged to actively cheat as part of play. 

Useless information supposed to drive my imagination: “McDonald’s cuts cheeseburgers from Happy Meals.” 

WEEI personnel are today, from 6am-6pm, attending mandatory sensitivity training. Ya, that should help. 

I like Eduardo Nunez. Am I overly excited about his signing with the Sox? No. But I like theguy.

Go west Bruins, go west. (and win) 

Speaking of sensitivity, why can someone whether on TV or radio imitate an Italian accent, Irish or Brit, but if they imitate an Asian it’s offensive?? 

Ernie Boch Jr. is the CEO of Boch Enterprises, an independent distributor of 64 Subaru dealerships. Last year Boch enterprises sold about 65,000 vehicles of the brand’s US total of 647,956.  

Trivia answer: Miami, OH (Roethlisberger and Rutherford Hayes); Stanford (Elway/Plunkett and Hoover); Michigan (Brady and Ford); and the US Navy (Staubach, Carter) 

“And in the master’s chambers
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can’t kill the beast.”

Good night everybody!

Briefly. (kinda) 

Dilly Dilly! 

Trivia #1: Who won the only Super Bowl played in Minneapolis?

Trivia #2: Who holds the records for most receptions in a Super Bowl, including overtime? Who holds it for regulation? 

Thank the Lord that the Super Bowl is almost here. Yesterday’s headline of the Boston Globe sports section read: “The Evolution of the Headset” 

Escaping from prison, you’re doing it wrong. An inmate who escaped from a federal prison in southeast Texas was arrested Wednesday while allegedly trying to sneak back in with snacks, alcohol, tobacco and cooked food. 

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: Chief Wahoo’s days are numbered. The Cleveland Indians’ logo, which has been in use since 1947 but today is deemed racist by Native American groups and others, will be seen on the team’s uniforms for only one more year. 

Mookie won in arbitration. Good for Mookie. 

Hospitalization rates are currently at 41.9 per 100,000 for the flu. Flu-related pediatric deaths for this season stand at 37. As we hit the half-way mark in the flu season, the CDC still recommends getting a flu shot. Did you hear that? 

I’m sorry but, and I’m sure I’m in the minority, I don’t need to know whether Tom Brady folds his toilet paper or crumbles it up. Nor do I need to know whether he puts on his right sock first or his left, though I’m sure which ever one goes on first makes him healthier. I want to see Brady throw the ball and win a Super Bowl. You can have his everyday routine. 

R.I.P. – Oscar Gamble (68) – he played with seven MLB teams, but I’m sure anyone who remembers him remembers him with Cleveland. He had “the ‘fro” that was as much as 12 inches long. 

Quote of the week: “Son, we have rules here. And you need a haircut.” – Manager Billy Martin to Oscar Gamble when Oscar was traded to the yankees in 1975. He had approached Martin and asked why there wasn’t a uniform in his locker. 

Trivia answer #1: Washington beat Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVI.

Trivia answer #2: James White (14), last year. In regulation, Demaryius Thomas (13) in SB XLVIII. 

And now… Super Bowl stuff: 

Bookies say they anticipate total legal betting on the Super Bowl to break the record of $138.5 million, set last year. Billions more are believed to be bet on the game illegally around the country. Already, separate bets of $500,000, $700,000 and more than $2 million have been bet on the Eagles.

No quarterback has ever led the league in passing yardage and gone on to win the Lombardi trophy.
The Patriots last beat Philly in 2004, Super Bowl XXXIX, their second straight SB win and 3^rd in 4 years. They can beat them again Sunday for their 2^nd straight SB win, 3^rd in 4 years.
The over/under on National Anthem, sung by Pink, is 180 seconds.

It is difficult to rank Philadelphia in any offensive category when they had two different QB’s during the season.

The Patriots ranked 1^st in average yards gained per drive (37.6). They were last in average yards allowed per drive (34.2).
The Eagles can become the fourth team to win a SB after having a losing record the season before (7-9).
Useless information, supposed to drive my imagination: The Patriots will wear their white uniforms. They are 3-0 in Super Bowls under Belichick. 12 of the last 13 SB winners have worn white.
Only two Super Bowl quarterbacks have started fewer games in the regular season than Nick Foles (3), Doug Williams and Jeff Hostetler. Both won.
The average margin of victory in the Patriots five SB wins under Belichick is 3.8 points. The average margin in their two losses is 3.5. The point spread for Sunday’s game is sitting at 4 points.
The Patriots will either tie the record for most Super Bowls wins (6, Pittsburgh) or tie for the most Super Bowl losses (5, Denver)
Both SB teams had a point differential during the season of +162, league high.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie once tried to buy the Patriots.

The Eagles took an unusual step in preparing for the Super Bowl by getting acclimated to a longer-than-usual halftime, sitting for a full 30 minutes (as opposed to 13-14 minutes). Of course, most of the Patriots are already used to that!

In case you are watching the game and wondering why so many Philly fans are wearing dog masks, they have been the underdog in their first two playoff games and like the role.
Since Tom Brady took over, the Patriots are 15-0 in the playoffs against teams they did not play in the regular season, 12-9 against repeat opponents. The Patriots and Eagles did not play during this
regular season.
Not that you need to be reminded, but the Patriots have not scored in the first quarter of any Super Bowl under Bill Belichick.
Alshon Jeffrey’s prediction may come true. After last season he said “we are going to win the Super Bowl next year.” Jeffrey was with the Bears last season. He never said who “we” are. 

And finally: The Bible refers to “eagle” 33 times and “goat” 42 times. Pats by 9! 

“But it’s been no bed of roses,
No please cruise.
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race,
And I ain’t gonna lose.” 

Go Pats!

Briefly.

Trivia #1: Only two quarterbacks in NFL history have had back-to-back postseason games where they completed 75% or better of their passes. Who are they?

Trivia #2: Who holds the record for most total yards gained in a Super Bowl? Antonio Freeman, Ricky Sanders, Andre Coleman, Desmond Howard, Jacoby Jones, Jerry Rice 

The Bruins have scored at least one point in the standings in 18 consecutive games. 

No, no comment of the MLB HOF voting. I really don’t have the time. 

Brad Marchand. Man, would we hate him on another team or what?

You may be rooting for the Celtics to reach the Finals, but that is where the dreams end. 

This week’s sign of the apocalypse (it’s been a few weeks): KFC is selling a chicken wing box that can be made into a drone. 

I still can’t figure this out. Remember that false missile alert in Hawaii? Get this. Pornhub is able to measure views by location and they reported that views to its site dropped drastically after the alert was sent out at 8:07am HST. Traffic was a massive 77% below that of a typical Saturday. However, once residents were notified around 8:45am HST that the alert was a false alarm, traffic on the porn site shot up to 48% above typical levels. 

Ya, I’ll read that… NOT! “Matthew McConaughey’s brother explains why he named his children after beer” 

You might not agree but I thought it was good to see Chris Berman, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson doing their thing after the games on Sunday. 

The Jaguars had zero turnovers in three postseason games this year. 

The dreaded “extra week before the Super Bowl” is almost over. 

Philly-banned items in certain Massachusetts cities/towns:

Montilio’s Bakery is banning Philadelphia Cream Cheese from its shelves.
The Esplanade Association is banning certain Philadelphia-themed foods, items, and people from the park. Specifically, actor Will Smith (Eagle’s fan) and Sylvester Stallone are banned from the 3.5 mile stretch the Museum of Science to the BU Bridge. Really. 

Since their last trip to the Super Bowl in 1976 (a loss), Minnesota has been to the playoffs 21 times without a repeat trip to the Super Bowl. They also have the most road losses in playoff history.

Tom Brady’s QB rating in the 4^th quarter last weekend was 136.3. 

I’ve spoken with two staunch NY Giants’ fans and both are rooting for their division rival next weekend.

In the past 10 seasons, when trailing by 10+ in the 4^th quarter, the Patriots are 3-4. The rest of the NFL is 3-70. 

8 Super Bowls in 17 years.

If you’re not into “Dilly Dilly”, get over it. 

9 days until Super Bowl LII, 10 days until Truck Day!

Trivia #1 answer: Nick Foles and Joe Montana

Trivia #2 answer: Jacoby Jones (290) 

“Ziggy played guitar,
Jamming good with Weird and Gilly,
And the Spiders from Mars.
He played it left hand,
But made it too far,
Became a special man,
Then we were Ziggy’s band.”

Briefly. 

Go Pats! 

Trivia #1: Who is the only athlete drafted four times?

Trivia #2: Who were the starting quarterbacks when the Patriots beat the Jaguars in the 1996 AFC Championship game? 

Welcome back to Boston again Rondo. Solid 7-point effort! 

The good news for pregnant women in cash-strapped and food-strapped Venezuela is that President Nicolas Maduro just announced the government would be giving them 700,000 bolivars a month. The bad news: Thanks to hyperinflation, that amounts to $3.83 in the real world. He said they’ll go up to the equivalent of $5 a month once the baby is born. 

Last Saturday Hawaii mistakenly issued an “all clear” – an incoming missile alert – during a routine test that happens at the start of every shift. Changes are now being made and from now on, activation of the test and a real incoming missile alert will require two people, and a command that can cancel a mistaken activation within seconds will be created. The reason it took so long to cancel Saturday’s alert, 38 minutes, was because no such button was in place. The person responsible for the gaff has been receiving death threats.

They said it: “Mother Nature is calling.” – Rene Rancourt, who has announced his retirement. 

Did you see the Bulls’ Kris Dunn land on his face after hanging from the rim following a dunk? Damn!

Why would you name a team after a car? 

Looking for your kid, you’re doing it right! Tony Lethbridge of Lake Macquarie, Australia, suspected his son Samuel, 17, may have been in a car wreck when he didn’t return home after a Saturday night out with friends. On Monday morning he hired a helicopter and the car was found within 15 minutes about 12 miles from home. The car was easily visible from the air but would have near impossible to see from the road, said the pilot. 

Happy birthday to Betty White, this past Wednesday, 96. She claims to eat the foods she likes, vodka and hotdogs, in that order. 

Trivia answer #1: Jo Jo White was drafted by the Celtics (9^th overall), the Dallas Cowboys, the Cincinnati Reds and the Marines.

Trivia answer #2: Drew Bledsoe and Mark Brunell 

R.I.P. Jo Jo White, answer to our trivia question. Do you want more on Jo Jo? He was a two-time All-American at Kansas, an Olympic Gold Medal winner in 1968, a two-time NBA champ, an NBA Finals MVP, he is in the Hall of Fame of the NBA, St. Louis Sports and the Marine Corps (they have a sports HOF), and his number has been retired by U Kansas. 

R.I.P. Washington St. sophomore QB, Tyler Hilinski who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was in line to be the starter next season. What a shame. You just never know… 

“For those about to rock,
We salute you”

Briefly. 

Trivia: Every team in the NFC has been to the conference title game. Which team is the only won never to win it? 

Pats/Saints Super Bowl. 

The Philadelphia Eagles are the first team to come in as the overall #1 seed in the conference and be an underdog in the divisional playoff. For good reason.

Daniel Bard has retired from baseball. Selected 28^th overall by the Red Sox in 2006, Bard reached the big leagues in 2009. In 2010 he posted a blistering 1.93 ERA as John Papelbon’s setup man while striking out 76 batters in 74 2/3 innings. He didn’t allow an earned run from May 23 to Aug. 2, a scoreless streak of 26 1/3 innings. But it was all downhill from there as he struggled late in 2011 and Bobby Valentine tried to convert him to a started in 2012. He struggled with control problems the rest of his career, bouncing around in the minors for the last four years. So there you have it. It was Bobby Valentine’s fault, as were many other things. 

Useless headline of the week: “Eight teams that might fit Tom Brady if he left the New England Patriots” 

Red Sox prospect Michael Chavis’ breakout season in 2017 is partly attributed to his being pooped on by a bird while in his convertible during spring training in March. In 126 games between High-A Salem (59 games) and Double-A Portland (67 games), Chavis stroked 31 homeruns, 35 doubles and two triples, drove in 94 runs and batted .282 with a .347 on-base percentage. 

On January 5, Bertha Vickers of Morgantown, Miss. used a .243 Winchester rifle to bag a deer a few miles from her rural home. Big deal, you say? Four days later on January 9, Bertha celebrated her 100^th birthday! Said Bertha, “I don’t know why everyone is making such a big deal about it. If I killed a big buck I could see it, but it was just a doe.” 

The Bruins play the Canadians for the first time this weekend (or next week??). How is that?

“What the?” headline of the week: “Alabama man accused of sexually molesting 20-year-old horse” 

Speaking of Alabama… I could never root for Nick Saban but I have to admit. Ballsy call bringing in the freshman in the second half. 

Former NY Giants Rashad Jennings had zero dance experience before competing in DWTS, Season 24 (whenever that was). Now that he has retired from football he is going to get into competitive dancing. Go figure. 

Are you familiar with CES – Consumer Electronics Show? Closing out the 4-day show today in Vegas, the show was attended by 184K people, had over 4K exhibiting companies and 1.2K speakers. Of the plethora of awards handed out I like the “Best Unexpected Product”, affectionately called “My Special Aflac Duck”. Designed to support children diagnosed with cancer, is has features like a port-a-cath with an RFID chip for children to familiarize themselves with chemotherapy treatment, as well as emoji cards which allow the duck to express the child’s emotions for them. It’s also cute, fluffy and cuddly. Alfac plans to get the toy to all children diagnosed with cancer in the US, free of charge. Really. 

The Celtics won in London. I hope the fans enjoyed it. 

Trivia answer: The Detroit Lions (I know, kind of a layup there) 

“If you’re going to do something tonight that you’ll be sorry for tomorrow morning, sleep late.” – Henny Youngman 

“This old engine
Makes it on time
Leaves Central Station
About a quarter to nine
Hits River Junction
At seventeen to
At a quarter to ten
You know its trav’lin again”