Blog

Briefly.

My apologies for last week’s faux pa. Mike Yaz is Yaz’ grandson, not son. BTW, he is still hitting homeruns and hit another one on his grandfather’s 80^th birthday. 

Trivia #1: Who was Ray Chapman?

Trivia #2: What NFL team was once the Portsmouth Spartans?

Trivia #3: How did the L.A. Dodgers, formerly the Brooklyn Dodgers, get their name?

Bonus Trivia: Just yesterday, Bob Cousy became just the fourth former NBA player to be presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Name the other three. 

Belated congratulations to local Channel 5 sportscaster, Mike Lynch, who recently retired. Lynchie came on board in 1982 and soon took over the lead role in the “Sports War”, at the time, with Ch. 4 (Bob Lobel) and Ch. 7 (John Dennis). He played football at Harvard and in 1975 kicked the game-winning field goal  in the closing seconds to beat Yale 10-7 in the Yale Bowl before an estimated 66,000 fans. 

Despite having nine batters with 10-plus homeruns for just the second time in franchise history, the Red Sox have just the eighth-highest homerun total among all MLB teams in 2019. 

Tom Brady did not look all that sharp last night. I am zero-worried about Tom Brady and the offense. 

Get ‘em while they’re hot! Early bird season tickets to the Worchester Red Sox (The WooSox) are now on sale. 

The fires in the Amazon rain forest are an international crisis. The forest produces 20% of the world’s oxygen. 20%! 

U.S. soccer star Carli Lloyd appeared at a joint practice session between the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday. Lloyd was seen nailing 40-yard and 55-yard field goals. 

Chris Berman is celebrating 40 years with ESPN. I remember where I was when I saw SportsCenter for the first time. Do you? 

So the Red Sox won their suspended game yesterday, 5-4, after just under 12 minutes of play thanks to Brock Holt’s RBI single in the 10^th. The game had been delayed for 12,018 minutes. Attendance yesterday was just shy of 12,000 (under 18-year old were free, all others $5, concession items were $1 – not sure whether they sold beer but I doubt it was for $1) and just 603 words were spoken on the WEEI broadcast. With Thursday previously scheduled as an off-day for the Sox, some players had planned events in the San Diego area with their families. Instead, flights to begin their west coast road trip were delayed a day. 

Antonio Brown, you spoiled baby. You punk. Put on your helmet and play. 

Useless headline of the week: Chris Sale Optimistic For 2020, Despite Disappointing End To 2019 Season 

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson said he and his podcast co-host smoke around $40,000 worth of pot each month on his 40-acre, California ranch. He added that his ranch sells around $500,000 in cannabis to dispensaries in California and Nevada each month. (Can you imagine what Mike Tyson’s voice sounds like when he’s stoned?!) 

23-year old Nathan Patterson threw a 96-mile an hour pitch at a speed-pitch radar booth at Coors Field. The video of the pitch went viral and 700,000 views later, Nathan signed a contract with the Oakland A’s. In his debut at the team’s rookie-level Arizona league he struck out all three batters he faced. Cool. 

Geoffrey and Kaycee Lace, of Friedens Pennsylvania, were hit with misdemeanor theft charges last week after police searched their home and found a doll that resembled the infant seen in photos the couple says was their son. They faked both the baby’s birth and death, set up a GoFundMe page and collected donations from friends, family and the community. Scumbags. 

“I” before “E”, except after “C”. Now that’s just weird. 

Detroit Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford says that her best memory of the Lions has yet to come. “I want the Lombardi Trophy.” At 93 years old, she’s a few prayers away from seeing her dream come true, think? 

Trivia #1 answer: Who was Ray Chapman? Cleveland Indians shortstop who was struck with a fastball in 1920 by the yankees’ Carl Mays. The first and only death to occur as a result of a pitched ball in major league history.

Trivia #2: What NFL team was once the Portsmouth Spartans? – The Detroit Lions

Trivia #3: How did the L.A. Dodgers, formerly the Brooklyn Dodgers, get their name? – In 1892, Brooklyn replaced their horse-drawn trolley lines with new, faster electronic trolley lines. Sportswriters at first referred to the residents of the city as the “Trolley Dodgers” because of their amazing skill set in dodging the trolley streetcar system. The “Trolley Dodgers” eventually became simply the “Dodgers.”

Bonus Trivia answer: Just yesterday, Bob Cousy became just the fourth former NBA player to be presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Name the other three – Bill Russel, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

“You know I’ve seen a lot of what the world can do
And it’s breakin’ my heart in two
Because I never want to see you sad girl
Don’t be a bad girl
But if you wanna leave, take good care
Hope you have a lot of nice friends out there
But just remember there’s a lot of bad and beware, beware”

Forgive me.

R.I.P. William “Uncle Bill” O’Brien (82). A wonderful, fascinating guy.  He will be greatly missed.

Briefly. 

Trivia #1: Who were the first and last performers at Woodstock (50 years ago this week)?

Trivia #1 Bonus: Why did the first performer play longer than expected, over three hours?

Trivia #2: Who were the first two teams to qualify for the MLB Wild Card and how did they fair? 

Happy National Rum Day! 

New York Jets’ kicker, 28-year old Chandler Catanzaro, retired the day after missing two extra-point attempts after the team’s preseason opener. He quit. 

Don’t give up, don’t ever give up. Unless of course you’re down 7 1/2 games in the Wild Card race, it’s mid-August and you have a grueling 8-game, west coast road trip on the horizon. 

Due to rising costs, dirty deeds will no longer be done dirt cheap. 

Mike Yastrzemski passed his Dad with his 12^th homerun (now has 13) as a rookie. He did it in 244 at-bats. In Yaz’s rookie year, he had 583 at-bats. 

Yes, the MLB 2020 schedule is out and the Red Sox begin play, with many other teams, on March 26! The home opener is April 2. Why so early? MLB wants the World Series over before the 2020 Presidential election on Nov 3. 

Tim Tebow update. Tebow batted .273 with six homers and 36 RBI in Double A ball in 2018. This season he was batting just .163 with four homeruns and 19 RBI before cutting his hand in the outfield(?) and ending his season with the Triple A Mets. Tebow turned 32 on Wednesday and instead of gifts asked for donations with a goal of raising $150,000 to provide 150 life-changing surgeries at the Tebow CURE Hospital for children in the Philippines. The Tebow CURE Hospital has had over 17,000 patients and performed more than 3,300 surgeries. Nice. 

In Patriots news… please. Just skip the next three weeks and let’s get going! 

Sportsmanship, you’re doing it wrong. Jessica Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown were in step with each other for much of the World Triathlon Olympic qualification event in Tokyo yesterday, and so as the British athletes crossed the finish line before anyone else, they grabbed hands. That move ended up getting them both disqualified as the International Triathlon Union has a rule stating that athletes may not “finish in a contrived tie situation where no effort to separate the finish times have been made.” DOH! 

People worry about what kind of planet we’re leaving for our kids. Might want to consider what type of kids we’re leaving for our planet?

Antonio Brown. Shut-up and play football. 

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: Puerto Rico’s doubles bowling team was stripped of its gold medal at the Pan American Games last weekend after one of its players failed a doping test. 

People often ask me (never), what happened to Blake Swihart? Blake had parted ways with the Red Sox earlier this year only to be acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks who announced they have designated him for assignment. Bye-bye, Blake. He appeared in just 31 games with Arizona batting .136 and hitting 3 homeruns. He never caught a single inning and instead mostly played in the outfield. Nice tat’s though! 

Trivia #1 answer: Who were the first and last performers at Woodstock (50 years ago this week)? First – Richie Havens, Last – Jimi Hendrix

Trivia #1 Bonus answer: Why did the first performer play longer than expected, over three hours? Richie Havens played so long because the other performers had such trouble getting there.

Trivia #2: Who were the first two teams to qualify for the MLB Wild Card and how did they fair? – The yankees and Rockies in 1995. Both were knocked out in the first round 

“I gotta roll, can’t stand still,
Got a flamin’ heart, can’t get my fill.
Eyes that shine, burnin’ red
Dreams of you, all through my head.”

Briefly. 

Trivia #1: Rafael Devers became just the third player in Red Sox history to hit at least 23 homeruns before the age of 23. Name the other two and what was somewhat ironic about those other two?

Trivia #2: The Atlanta Hawks Vince Carter, 42, is set to sign a one-year contract for his record-setting 22^nd season in the NBA. He is currently tied with four others at 21 seasons. Name them.

“Zed’s dead.” – name the movie. 

Headline of the week: “The Red Sox Were The Toast Of Baseball Last Year. Now They’re Just Toast.” 

And you think our country is messed up? In a televised ceremony on his 67^th birthday, King Rama X (the king of Thailand) named Major-General Sineenat Wongvajiralongkrn the new Royal Noble Consort, the official title for the chief concubine. Basically, he named her as his official mistress. Sitting next to Rama X during the ceremony was his wife… of less than three months. She is his fourth wife. His first wife was his first cousin with whom he fathered a child. 

On Monday, the Miami Marlins called up from the minors their #5 prospect, Isan Diaz. In the 6^th inning of game one of a doubleheader, Diaz came to bat. At the same time his father was being interviewed on television with wife and family next to him. What happened next? You guessed it. Diaz hit his first major league homerun. Great scene. 

I’m Irish. I may not remember, but I never forget! 

Don’t look now but JBJ is still in the lineup. 

Yankees suck. Just sayin’. 

Cheer, cheer, I say. The Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act, passed by NJ Gov. Phil Murphy in April, allows terminally ill patients to end their lives using a prescription administered by a physician. The law went into effect last week. Somewhere, Dr. Kevorkian is smiling. 

Baltimore Ravens rookie defensive lineman Daylon Mack forgot to bring cinnamon rolls to a team meeting on Tuesday. On Wednesday his pickup truck was filled with packing peanuts. 

I love picking on Baltimore’s Chris Davis. On Wednesday night he had to be held back from going after his manager in the dugout during a game. No one is saying why but it is possibly because his manager told him he sucks??  He is currently batting .182 with 111 K’s in 247 at-bats, a clip of 45% of the time. Since 2012 he has struck out 1,355 times at a rate of 37.5% of his at-bats. In 2016 he signed a 7-year, $161M contract. 

Enjoying your drink, you’re doing it wrong. An unidentified 21-year old from Cambridge, MA ordered a Manhattan from a rooftop bar at Manhattan’s 16-story Roger Smith Hotel before leaping off the deck to his death. He didn’t touch his drink.

Bill Belichik vs Matt Patricia. Exhibition I know but, really?

Toronto Blue Jay rookie Bo Bichette has played in 11 major league games since being called up recently. He has now doubled in 9 straight games, a major league record. 

R.I.P. Harley Race (76) – 8-time NWA World Wrestling Champion

R.I.P. Bjorg Lambrecht (22) – Belgian cyclist who fell during in the third stage of the Tour of Poland and died of the resulting injuries. Sad.

R.I.P. Rosie Ruiz (66) – The Most Famous Marathon Cheat In History (actual headline). Cheater 

Trivia #1 answer: Rafael Devers became just the third player in Red Sox history to hit at least 23 homeruns before the age of 23. Name the other two and what was somewhat ironic about those other two? – Tony Conigliaro (easy one) and George “Boomer” Scott. Ironically, both did it in 1966.

Trivia #2 answer: The Atlanta Hawks Vince Carter, 42, is set to sign a one-year contract for his record-setting 22^nd season in the NBA. He is currently tied with four others at 21 seasons. Name them. – Robert Parrish, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis and Dirk Nowitski.

“Zed’s dead.” – Pulp Fiction 

“You’re as smooth as Tennessee whiskey
You’re as sweet as strawberry wine
You’re as warm as a glass of brandy
And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time”

Briefly. 

Welcome to August. The first true sign that football is right around the corner! 

Trivia #1: On Wednesday, the Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto hit his 20^th homerun of the season. He is just one of three players in MLB history to have two 20-homer seasons before the age of 21. Name the other two.

Trivia #2: See trivia #1 – only four other players have one 20-homer season before the age of 21. Who is not in that group: Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Trout, Ronald Acuna, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Correa.

Trivia #3: In financial terms, what does EBIT stand for? 

People often ask me (never), what happened to Steve Pearce, last year’s World Series MVP? After signing a one-year, $6.25M contract with the Sox, Pearce was out with a calf injury before hurting his knee while rehabbing. He is hoping to come back this month. He played in 29 games this season, plus some time in the minors, hitting .176 overall. 

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: Pennsylvania native Kyle Giersdorf won $3 million on Sunday for the top spot in New York’s global Fortnite online video game tournament. He’s 16 years old. 

Did you watch any of the thrilling 14-10 Falcons/Broncos exhibition game last night? Me neither. 

This is the time of year when your golf game is either starting to come around or (see above), football is right around the corner! 

Things work out… I don’t. 

Quote of the week: “That’s a big league pair of shoes is what that is.” – Eck referencing a strikeout, looking. 

Headline of the week: “Pittsburgh Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster gifts season tickets to fan who tattooed autograph on head.” (I saw the picture, he tattooed the signature next to the Steelers logo – on the side of his head!) 

Coors Light – official beer of drinking in the shower! (if you haven’t caught the commercial yet, I hope you do) 

I want to say “put a fork in ‘em” but I keep hanging on. It’s a disease.  

R.I.P. Nick Bouniconti (78) – Former Boston Patriot (AFL) and Miami Dolphin (NFL) won two Super Bowls, was named to the Pro Bowl eight times and was an All-Pro selection five times. He ironically (I think) outlived his son Nick, a quadriplegic since 1985. Together they raised more than half-billion dollars in the search to cure paralysis. 

Trivia #1 answer: On Wednesday, the Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto hit his 20^thhomerun of the season. He is just one of three players in MLB history to have two 20-homer seasons before the age of 21. Name the other two. – Tony Conigliaro & Bryce Harper

Trivia #2 answer: See trivia #1 – only four other players have one 20-homer season before the age of 21. Who is not in that group: Mike Trout, Ronald Acuna, Ken Griffey Jr., Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Correa. – Ken Griffey Jr.

Trivia #3 answer: In financial terms, what does EBIT stand for? – Earnings Before Interest & Taxes 

“Now I ain’t complaining, just tryin’ to understand
What makes a woman do the things she does.
One day she’ll love you, the next day she’ll leave you, Why can’t
we have it, just the way it used to be? Why can’t we have it baby.”

Briefly. 

Trivia #1: Who is the only tennis player to have won each of the four grand slam events four times? – Steffi Graf, Ivan Lendl, Serena Williams, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras

Trivia #2: Name three players to have worn (or are wearing) number 11 for the Boston Red Sox. 

Congratulations to The Open Champion, northern Ireland local, Shane Lowery. Good for him. 

“River keeps on flowing, never worried ‘bout where it’s goin’” 

Cleveland Indian’s Gerardo Parra’s intro song – Baby Shark. It’s the latest craze, check it out. I love it –https://twitter.com/masnNationals/status/1154518902090678273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1154518902090678273&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fwashington%2Fnationals%2Fgerardo-parra-has-nationals-fans-going-crazy-baby-shark-and-we-love-it 

The Sox are in a bit of a bizarre stretch of their schedule with three vs. Tampa, now four with NY, then three more with Tampa followed by three more with NY. 

Typical Sox this season. They score 17 runs one night against the O’s and then score zero runs and nearly get no-hit the next night against a guy without a ‘W’ in two years.

In more sad addict news, former NL Rookie of the Year and CY Young Award winner, and a member of the ’86 World Series Champion Mets and ’96 World Series Champion Yankees, Dwight Gooden is back in rehab. He allegedly has $200,000 to his name. 

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: “NFL commissioner may be forced to testify under oath in Saints Fans’ lawsuit” 

The first NFL preseason game is next Thursday night. Really. 

Failed State Farm slogan: Like a good neighbor, stay over there. 

Listening to Joe Castiglione last week during a Sox/Orioles game. He stated that the Red Sox were looking to get to Baltimore’s bullpen. Uh, Joe. Have you seen our bullpen lately?? 

And you think it was hot where you were last week? It was 108.7 F in Paris on Thursday, an all-time high. All-time highs have also been reached this past week in Germany, the Netherlands and many other locations across the pond. 

Useless information, supposed to fire my imagination: Jeopardy champ James Holzhauer predicts a Super Bowl rematch between the Pats and Rams. 

A 65-year old Serbian man confessed in court on Saturday to calling in a false bomb threat to stop a Lufthansa flight attendant from leaving the country because he hoped she would go on a date with him. 

I think Carlos Pena is a TERRIBLE commentator, for countless reasons. The other night he noted that Xander Bogaerts had a  multiple hit game. He said, and I paraphrase; “That’s good for Xander. A multiple hit game. Go home feeling good. That’s nice.” – The Sox were losing at the time. 

I am so not excited about the upcoming NBA season. So many stars have switched teams. So many teams have gone from nothing to something and something to nothing. I so don’t care. 

Trivia #1 answer: Who is the only tennis player to have won each of the four grand slam events four times? – Steffi Graf, Ivan Lendl, Serena Williams, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras – Steffi Graf

Trivia #2 answer: Name three players to have worn (or are wearing) number 11 for the Boston Red Sox. – If you got anyone other than someone on this list, good for you and I want to know: Rafael Devers, Clay Buchholz, Alex Gonzalez, Bill Mueller, Hideo Nomo, Tim Naehring, Ed Romero, Dave Stapleton, Luis Aparicio 

“Yeah, gonna be so neat
Dance to the Euro beat
Yeah, gonna be so cool
Twisting by the, we’re twisting by the pool

Twisting by the pool
Twisting by the pool
Yeah, twisting, twisting by the pool”

Briefly. (very) 

My apologies for the weak effort last week. The river really was rising. Had to run quickly before the levee broke. 

Trivia #1: Of the following elements found on the sun, which is least prevalent? Carbon, Iron, Oxygen, Nitrogen

Trivia #2: Tom Watson won his 3^rd Open Championship by four shots over whom, at Muirfield? Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd, Payne Stewart, Hale Irwin 

I can’t stand the talk that Rory played lousy yesterday because of the pressure. Please. He sucked, like several others yesterday. (he gets to dwell on it until 3:10pm EST today) 

Other than in a baseball dugout or bullpen, where is it kosher to chew sunflower seeds? (I don’t have the answer) 

Take a deep breath. Find your grip. Address the ball. Get your stance. Take the club back slowly. Turn your hips. Keep your head down. Follow through. Finish high. And the other 50 things I’m leaving out. It’s no wonder that hitting a golf ball is so simple. 

Enjoy the day… every day. 

R.I.P. Rip Torn (88) – Simply for his name. 

Trivia #1 answer: Of the following elements found on the sun, which is least prevalent: Carbon, Iron, Oxygen, Nitrogen? – Nitrogen (It is made up of 73.46% hydrogen)

Trivia #2: Tom Watson won his 3^rd Open Championship by four shots over whom, at Muirfield? Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd, Payne Stewart, Hale Irwin – Lee Trevino (or Traverso, to some) 

It’s going to be a scorcher of a weekend. Be sure to force the fluids! 

“I’m Mr. green Christmas
I’m Mr. Sun.
I’m Mr. Heat Blister
I’m Mr. One Hundred and one
They call me Heat Miser
Whatever I touch
Starts to melt in my clutch
I’m too much”

Briefly. (abbreviated, the river fkooding…) 

“’Cause summer’s here and the time is right for fighting in the streets, boy” 

Speaking of the Rolling Stones, the World’s Greatest Rock ‘n Roll Band, in a sure sign of the times, the official sponsor of their current “No Filter” tour is the Alliance for Lifetime Income, a trade association that promotes the sale of annuities. 

Trivia #1: The Legend of Ted Williams’ Seat: Where is it? Section 43, row 27, seat 11 – Section 42, row 37, seat 21 – Section 39, row 30, seat 14 – Section 39 row, 32, seat 21 – Section 41, row 36, seat 25? 

“Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name” 

Best of luck to Teddy Bruschi who suffered another stroke and is apparently doing OK. 

“And the chauffeur drives your car, you let everybody know” 

OK, I’m done with all the “All-Star snub” crap. It happens EVERY year. Too much talk around here because it happened to our guys. Let it go. 

“War, children, is just a shot away” 

Quote of the week: “If there’s anybody here who is going to be disrespectful to either the American or Canadian national anthem, grab your gear and get the f&*k out now because you’ll never see the ice.” – Coach John Krupinsky of a Danbury Connecticut minor league hockey team. 

Speaking of the all-star game, and I’ve said this before, someone is going to get hurt! There are what, 40-75ish kids in the outfield shagging balls during the Homerun Derby, cutting each other off, bumping into one another. Some of those balls are scorched! One day, whether a fly ball or line drive is going to ricochet off one kid’s glove into the face of another kid. It’s going to happen. But hey, let’s let them have at it until someone gets hurt. 

Tournament organizers declined John Daly’s request to use a cart in the Open Championship later this month. Daly stills plans to play adding “Fingers crossed I can make it through the pain.” I’m sure a few beers might help with that… 

Speaking of the PGA, last weekend 20-year old Matthew Wolff made a 26-foot putt from the fringe for an eagle on the final hole to win the 3M Open. It was just six weeks after winning the NCAA individual title with Oklahoma State and he played the tournament on a sponsor exemption. Good for him! 

Speaking of hotdogs… Best tagline going: “Come on, eat a hotdog!” – Kayem, official hotdog sponsor of the Boston Red Sox. 

Trivia #1 answer: The Legend of Ted Williams’ Seat: Where is it? Section 43, row 27, seat 11 – Section 42, row 37, seat 21 – Section 39, row 30, seat 14 – Section 39 row, 32, seat 21 – Section 41, row 36, seat 25? – Section 42, row 37, seat 21

Briefly. 

Happy Day-After-the-Fourth. Great holiday, great weather (for some of us), great times. 

Trivia #1: Who is Cori “Coco” Gauff?

Trivia #2: Of the following players, which one was the oldest to appear in an All-Star baseball game? Ted Williams, Cal Ripken, Stan Musial, Barry Bonds, Tony Gwynn. 

Happy All-Star Week next week. I don’t care much for the game, though I’ll watch some of it. Same goes for the Derby. I’m rooting for Vlad Jr. 

Really. A Texas woman opened a tub of Blue Bell ice cream in Walmart, licked the ice cream and put it back in the freezer. Police have identified her, plan to arrest her and charge her with a second degree felony charge of tampering with a consumer product, which carries a sentence of two to 20 years in prison. 

If you’re looking for a reason to party on Sunday morning, find a local bar and sit down for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final. That’s soccer. USA vs. the Netherlands, 11am. Remember, you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning. 

Disaster! A fire at the Jim Beam warehouse in Versailles, Kentucky, was in its third day of burning yesterday. The warehouse contained 45,000 barrels of “relatively young whiskey.”

Don’t look now but JBJ is batting .232. 

Speaking of the Red Sox, have you listened this year on the radio? Three guys doing the game. Three!?

The 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit the Mojave Desert yesterday morning has been followed by at least 159 aftershocks of magnitude 2.5 and higher, including six higher than magnitude 4.

Aside from the fact that the Sox put up 21 runs in two games and still got their asses kicked, I thought the whole London-thing was pretty good. Nice venue, attendance was excellent and there was some good entertainment again, aside from the baseball. And, like some people I know, you could have taken in a game as well as stuck around the area and catching a match at Wimbledon. That’s cool. 

Dying, you’re doing it wrong. Indian doctors declared 20-year old Mohammad Furqan dead coincidentally after the man’s family told the hospital that looked after him that they no longer had the funds to pay for his care. As they prepared for his burial, family members noticed movement in his limbs. He is in critical condition at the same hospital, on a ventilator, but not brain dead. 

R.I.P. Tyler Skaggs (27), LA Angels pitcher. I realize stuff like this happens all the time but 27! What a shame.

Trivia #1 answer: Who is Cori “Coco” Gauff? – Cori is the 15-year old who beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon this week.

Trivia #2: Of the following players, which one was the oldest to appear in an All-Star baseball game? Ted Williams, Cal Ripken, Stan Musial, Barry Bonds, Tony Gwynn. – Barry Bonds was 42 years, 11 months and 17 days in 2007.

“Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A.”