Blog

Briefly.

In the 1980’s, 44 percent of MLB General Managers had played in the majors and 68 percent had played in the minors. By the 2010’s those figures were 10 and 15 percent, respectively, and the main qualification for front-office work was an Ivy League degree.

Trivia: Who is the active leader for career strikeouts? Bartolo Colon, John Lester, CC Sabathia, Justin Verlander, Zach Greinke or John Lackey

Riddle: You have two dogs. How can you give one away, yet keep both?

Whoddu thunk this year’s British Open Championship would out-do last year’s Stenson/Mickelson battle? Those last 6 holes were incredible!

Useless headline of the week: “Michael Phelps vs. great white shark: Who won?” 

Remember Mel Allen and “This Week In Baseball” on Saturday mornings? That was the best! Youngsters today don‘t understand that that television program was our only peek into the happenings in MLB outside of Boston. 

Wearing neckties may increase  your risk for glaucoma – keep it loose!

We’re still in July and Chris Sale has 211 strikeouts. He broke the AL record for quickest to 200 in a single season. Sale, by the way, has not allowed a run in 20 2/3 innings over three starts since the All-Star break. 

Hong Kong’s 7.4 million residents create a lot of trash – 15,000 tons of garbage are disposed every day. But at only 427 square miles, the city is quickly running out of space to put all that garbage. Hong Kong has three operational landfills taking up 560 acres of land and all of them are nearly full. Hong Kong government estimates  all three landfills will be completely full sometime in the next few years.

The Baltimore Ravens donated $1.5 million to keep a Baltimore high school open. Team owner Steve Bisciotti was so moved by stories of students at Renaissance Academy High School in Baltimore, and the devotion they showed to the school when officials threatened to close its doors, he and the team decided to pay for the renovations. Good for the Ravens! 

“What-the…” headline of the week: “McDonald’s debuts McDelivery clothing line featuring a Big Mac onesie and a fry-themed sweat suit.” 

Eck/Price – what goes on during a team flight should stay on the plane. Please end the nonsense.

Manu Ginobili, the Argentian who turns 40 today, has tweeted that he will return for a 16^thseason with the San Antonio Spurs. 

The tailgate experience at Mizzou football games will have another element this fall: pregame concerts. Each concert will feature a “nationally prominent artist” and will go off 2 � hours before kickoff. Admission to the one-hour concerts is free and does not require a game ticket. 

I commented on the Patriots’ schedule when it first came out but it is worth noting again. Their last 9 games are against the AFC. 5 of their last 6 games are against the AFC East – two vs. Miami (within three weeks of each other), two vs. Buffalo (within four weeks of each other), one vs. the Jets and another against the Pittsburgh. Which begs the question: Why is there an ‘h’ at the end of Pittsburgh? 

In case you missed it… Todd Frasier, the guy the Red Sox did not trade for, was traded to the yankees and hit into a triple play in his first at bat with his new team. Yes, a run did score on the play and yes he did homer in his next game, but so what. 

Quote of the week: “How about that!” – Mel Allen 

Trivia Answer: CC Sabathia with 2,797

Riddle: Give one away and rename the remaining dog “Both”. (ouch!) 

R.I.P. – Stubbs. The 20-year old yellow feline, was the unofficial mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, winning as a write-in in 1997. The town has no human mayor. Fun fact: In 1992 I paid $5 for a beer and a shower at a bar in Talkeetna, then home of Haverhillite Steve Gilroy. 

“I’ll sing my song to the wide open spaces

I’ll sing my heart out to the infinite sea

I’ll sing my visions to the sky high mountains

I’ll sing my song to the free, to the free”

Briefly. (after a brief hiatus)

I can hear Pablo Sandoval now: “I can’t believe I lost all that weight for nothing!”

Trivia #1: Ian Woosnam, tied for the lead, was assessed a two-shot penalty on the first hole of the final round at Royal Lytham in 2001 for what violation? A) He was late to the first tee b) He had 15 clubs in his bag c) He finished the hole with a different golf ball than the one he used on the tee d) He illegally moved his ball on the green

Trivia #2: Which common word changes it pronunciation when the first letter is capitalized? 

People try to knock the Sox/Yankees rivalry but I sure had a good time with it last weekend. Good theater! 

Headline of the week: Bag of NASA moon dust sells for $1.8M at auction. 

A recent article named Pablo as the worst signing in Red Sox history. Carl Crawford was second. 

A 50-year-old professor and mother from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A 19-year-old woman in Toledo, Iowa. A 48-year-old man who lives in Seattle. All received free men’s razors from Gillette in recent weeks, along with wishes for a happy 18^th birthday and a welcome to manhood – an amusing marketing misfire that left them wondering what led the brand to believe they were all teenage boys. 

Reebok has partnered with David Clark Company to produce an innovative pair of lightweight boots built for galactic travel. The Reebok Floatride Space Boot SB-01 is currently undergoing tests by astronauts and it’s touted as “the first evolution in space footwear in over 50 years” said the brand in a statement. “Space footwear”. That cracks me up. 

A report last year warned that match-fixing was a problem in tennis. But at Wimbledon? The sport’s independent watchdog group said Wednesday that three matches during this year’s event seemed a little fishy and are being investigated. In a release, it stressed that this doesn’t mean the matches were fixed, only it had received alerts about strange betting behavior that warranted a closer look. Alerts aren’t uncommon in the sport – the unit has received 83 alerts so far this year, down from 121 during the same span last year. 

If you haven’t done so in a while, stop at an ice cream stand and get an ice cream cone. Not many things in life are more American. 

Fister?! I didn’t touch her! (A Mike Adams classic) 

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: In Canada, parents successfully petitioned to have their child given a card where no sex was listed, arguing that it was up to the child to decide. 

Maybe it’s me but I’d like to know when was the last time a regular hit a walk-off homerun in extras and then sat the next day.

Skylar Fowler, 1, became the first child to die in a hot car in Georgia this year in a June 15 incident. Skylar’s mother, Dijanelle Fowler, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, child cruelty, and concealing the death of her daughter, whom cops say was left in Fowler’s car for 6 hours while she got her hair done. She allegedly left the car running with the air conditioning on, but at some point between her 10am appointment and 4pm return to the car, the car died. At no point during her appointment did she leave the salon to check on her daughter. You know, you typically hear of at least a few cases like this every year where children or pets are left in vehicles on a hot day by some negligent parent/owner. These people should be shot, on the spot! 

This week in history. (new feature here?) On July 20, 1969 at Philadelphia’s Connie Mack Stadium, play was halted in the top of the third inning in a game against the Cubbies. The teams moved silently to their respectively baselines and looked skyward as the Phillies’ crowd is informed word has been sent from Neil Armstrong to Mission Control in Houston that the Eagle had landed on the moon. The game will resume after a recording of Kate Smith’s rendition of “God Bless America” is played and a prayer is said for the astronauts over the loudspeaker. Wow, what a moment that must have been! 

Drew Pomeranz – winnings and innings! 

“Silent” and “Listen” are spelled with the same letters.

Trivia answer #1: b) Ian Woosnam had 15 clubs in his bag (you can only have 14). Hmmmm, makes me wonder. What’s the maximum number of beers you can have in your cart???

Trivia answer #2: Polish 

“Everyone’s beneath the trees feeding pigeons on a limb

But when Quinn the Eskimo gets there

All the pigeons gonna run to him.

Come all without, come all within

You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn”

 

 

Good night everybody! 

Briefly. (very)

So let me get this straight. Mitch Moreland is playing with a broken toe and Pedroia is on the bench (missed three games) after spitting up blood as a result of a shot to the ribs. Meanwhile, Sandoval is on the 10-day DL with the flu? Ya, right. 

Trivia #1: Who was the last foreign player drafted #1 overall in the NBA?

Trivia #2: What player is tied with Honus Wagner with eight National League batting titles? Hint – he hit .338 for his 20-season career amassing 3,141 hits. 

What’s the stink about the guy (Dyson?) laying a perfect bunt single breaking up Verlander’s no-hitter? First of all, it was in the 6^th inning, not the 8^th or 9^th. Secondly, so what! If you throw a no-hitter you are unhittable. Apparently, Verlander was not. At least he didn’t cry about it but everyone else did. 

Cool headline of the week: “Canadian sniper sets world record with 2.2 mile pick-off of ISIS fighter”

Useless headline of the week: “Oklahoma burglary suspect wore underwear on his head” 

I’m glad Patrice Bergeron again received the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward. Great recognition. Do they have an award for the best offensive defenseman? Right? 

My quick thoughts on the NBA Draft:

Jayson Tatum – Hey, who knows. Over the past several years, of the 55 one-and-done’s drafted as lottery picks, only 9 have been all-stars. Who knows?

What’s with the interviewing of all the parents? Interview the kid, go ahead and comment on everyone’s suit, but let’s keep the parents out of it. Especially that Odom buffoon!

Josh Jackson – I hope that is the last time you try to wear a baseball hat, unless of course you get a haircut

Lauri (that’s his name) Markkanen, from Finland, was drafted early by some team. Jay Bilas made what at first sounded like a strange comment; “I think he’d better slow down.” He went on to say that, in Finland, speeding tickets are paid based on a percentage of annual income. Imagine that?! The employed must just fly around town! 

I have been very patient with Panda. Finally I can say that it is time to cut the cord. 

If the Patriots stay even remotely healthy, they will not lose a game. This time, a full 19-0! 

Trivia answer #1: Andrea Bargnani, from Italy, by Toronto in 2006

Trivia answer #2: Tony Gwynn 

RIP – Stephen “Flounder” Furst, Otto Warmbier and for Wilbur, Tom Morgan – past owner of the R.I. Winston Rod Company 

“At night when the bars close down

Brandy walks through a silent town

And loves a man who’s not around

She still can hear him say 

She hears him say “Brandy, you’re a fine girl” (you’re a fine girl)

“What a good wife you would be” (such a fine girl)

“But my life , my lover, my lady is the sea”

Briefly.

Let’s get right to trivia:

Trivia #1, sticking with a prior week’s theme: Who has thrown the fastest pitch ever in MLB history?

Trivia #2: Who owns the record for most homeruns by a rookie in MLB history?

Trivia #3: It has been 93 PGA major tournaments since either Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson have not played. Who won the last major since that time? Hint below

I haven’t tried to get more information but sure there is a buzz out there from Tuesday’s Sox/Yankees game when Joe Kelly hit either 103 or 104 on the radar gun! NESN showed 103 but the stadium gun read 104. Wow! (see trivia question #1. It ain’t Joe) 

Last night’s Sox game was painful, period!

It’s only June but you have to be excited about this weekend’s Sox/Astros series.

Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, NJ has named their new baseball field ‘Porcello Field’ after Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello. Rick is an alum and made a pretty hefty donation towards the building of the field. 

If there is any single human being that I consider to be useless to society, it is Dennis Rodman. Please go away. 

RIP (last week?) Jimmy Piersall. I’ve never read his book, “Fear Strikes Out” but it’s been recommended to me a number of times. I’m going away in a couple of weeks and the book (Nook) is coming along. 

Though I don’t find this stat completely unbelievable, I do find it absolutely incredible. The NY Times reports that drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for people under 50. Most increases were in Eastern states because out West, black tar heroin remains most prevalent as opposed to powdered heroin which can be laced with fentanyl and carfentanil. 

Multi-beer argument but the 2017 Warriors are NOT the greatest NBA team of all time. 

The Yankees’ Aaron Judge is indeed a beast at 6’7”, 282 lbs. In addition to homeruns, RBI, runs scored, OPS, blah blah blah offensive categories, he also leads all rookies in outfield assists and  he has five stolen bases. Beast

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: An American tourist died after falling off a cliff while taking a selfie on the Greek island of Zakynthos. 

Gronk is self-proclaimed 100%. Now don’t get me wrong, that is great. But really, the guy is a human wrecking ball the way he plays. What are the odds he lasts the season?

Godspeed, Jerry Remy. Funny, when he first went to “the booth”, I really thought he was destined for greater things – ESPN? Now, though I am a fan, I don’t think he is very good as an analyst. 

Eyebrow-raising headline of the week #2: “Is Aaron Judge the next Babe Ruth?” 

Eyebrow-raising headline of the week: “Mom Spends $25K on Son’s Prom, Complete With Camel” (just makingsure you are paying attention)

Trivia #3 hint: It was the 1994 Masters.

Prayer Healing – you’re doing it wrong. Two members of an Oregon church that shuns traditional medicine in favor of prayer and anointing the sick with oils were arrested Monday in the death of their premature baby. Sarah Mitchell, 24, and Travis Lee Mitchell, 21, are accused of murder and criminal mistreatment. This past March, Sarah delivered twins girls at her grandparents’ home and one of the babies had breathing problems and died just a few hours later. 

“Are you ready for some footbaaaaall! A rock-n-roll partyyyyyyyyyy!” That’s right, Hank Williams Jr. is back on Monday Night Football, six years after being fired by ESPN for comments he made about Barack Obama. I like it just as long as they don’t replace Carrie Underwood on Sunday night. 

Say what you want about all other rivalries in all other sports but still, nothing beats Sox/Yankees. 

Happy Father’s Day. Earn it! 

Thanks to all that made The Penta what it was and what it is! 

Trivia answer #1: Aroldis Chapman, 105.1 mph in 2010.

Trivia answer #2: Mark McGuire (49) in 1987. In one 31-game span that year (Jun 13 – Jul 17) he hit 15!

Trivia answer #3: Jose Olazabal 

“Well we got no class

And we got no principles

And we got no innocence

We can’t even think of a word that rhymes!”

“Of all the things I value most in life,

I look inside my world and know that it is good. ”

Here’s to Charlie Penta!

Briefly.

They may be up-and-down so far this season but I really like the Red Sox pitching staff, starts and relievers.

Scientists from the Marine Mammal Center in northern California say the death of a large (300,000 lbs), female blue whale that washed up on a Marin County beach had been struck by a ship. DTK, whale-ship collisions is a “leading cause” of death for the creatures and that many cargo ships wouldn’t even notice such a collision because of their size.

Bizarro! One week ago Thursday the Red Sox tied a major league record by striking out 20 Texas Rangers in a nine-inning game. 10 of the last 11 Rangers struck out, including 4 in the 9^th inning courtesy of Craig Kimbrel and a botched call on a wild pitch. It was the third time in major league history that 20 players struck out. Which leads us to trivia.

Trivia question #1: Who are the other five (single pitcher or team) that struck out 20 batters in a single game? (single pitcher or team is your hint)

Trivia question #2: The Red Sox’ Joe Kelly, through Tuesday, had thrown 51 pitches of at least 100 mph, third behind Trevor Rosenthol (63) and Aroldis Chapman (57). Kelly is also third in average fastball velocity at 98.8 mph. Who has thrown the fastball pitch in baseball this season at 102.2 mph? –  Rosenthol (St. Louis), Chapman (Yankees), Kelly or Felipe Rivero (Pittsburgh)? Answer below

Football seems so far away. Good thing my team won!

Mr. Met has had it! The much-loved mascot is out of a job after he flipped the bird to fans on Wednesday. Although some argued that the four-fingered mascot really doesn’t have a middle digit to flip, the gesture was too much for Mets managers who canned Mr. Met. Funny enough, the pudgy-handed salute came on the 53^rd anniversary of Mr. Met’s debut as a mascot. The team web site notes that Mr. Met “can gesture in 12 languages” and leads “all active Major League mascots in high fours.”

How can you not root for the team from the hockey capitol of the world, the Nashville Predators?! I still think they take the series in seven.

12-year old Ananya Vinay, from Fresno CA, won the 90^th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night when she correctly spelled “marocin”, a French-derived word for a dress fabric. Hey, you think it’s easy??? Can you spell it?!?!

Useless headline of the week: “8 things you didn’t know about Ronda Rousey”

Golden State in four, but that might be too easy.

Leeches, yes leeches, are still used widely in Russian medicine, about 10 million of them per year, in many cases a low-cost substitute for blood thinners like warfarin. In Russia, a medicinal leech costs less than $1, and a typical application requires three to seven of the ravenous little creatures. Leech treatments, available throughout the country, take 30 to 40 minutes, though the resulting wounds ooze blood for an additional six hours and so until the natural anticoagulant in leech venom wears off.

Leave it to Sox fans to bitch about a guy, Xander Boegarts, who is hitting over .335 but doesn’t have enough homeruns (now up to two!).

A woman who was sick of children’s balls landing in her garden was beaten to death by neighbors after she punctured one of them. Prosecutors say that Kelly Machin, 34, had long complained about the noise made by neighbor Natalie Bollen’s children and about their balls landing in her garden in Leicester, England. After she burst a soccer ball with a knife before throwing it back in Aug. 23 last year, Bollen and her father, William Jelly, pushed their way into her home and assaulted her. Bollen punched Machin several times before Jelly pushed her over a coffee table, which fractured five ribs and caused internal injuries that led to her death almost two weeks later.

RIP Frank Deford. Though I read many an article of his in SI, I remember him most for The National. The then all-sports newspaper in the 90’s.

Trivia question #1 answer: Roger Clemens (2 times, vs. Seattle and Detroit), Kerry Wood (in his 5^th career start, va. Astros), Max Scherzer (vs. Detroit), LA Angels (2012 vs. Seattle)

Trivia question #2 answer: Joe Kelly

Briefly. (not really but I took last week off so forgive me for any old news)

I’m a hater, well documented. Was there anything better than watching the Yankees get thumped on ‘Jeter Day’ a couple of Sunday nights ago?

Trivia #1: Which state does NOT have an 80 mph speed limit? – South Dakota, Wyoming, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Texas

Trivia #2: In 2008, Jacoby Ellsbury began his big league career with 25 consecutive stolen bases, second all-time. Who holds the record for consecutive stolen bases (27) to start their career?

So Brady is on the cover of Madden 18. BFD. 

This just in, Deven Marrero is an outstanding fielder!

Incredible. It took 12,072 games before LeBron had four fouls in the first half. That reminds me of a little story… Freshman year of high school, first game of the season. Billy Riley gets four fouls in about the first four minutes and is removed from the game. The next day at practice we are expecting poor Billy to get a verbal beating from Coach Henry “Hank” “Buffalo-Breath” Sullivan. Instead, he praises him for his aggressiveness. I can tell you it was the best lesson I ever got from ol’ Hank.

Quote of the week#1: “It’s easier than you think.” – Former juiced-up MLB slugger Jose Canseco on blowing through the $46 million he made as a player.

Quote of the week #2: “I always said we had an offseason so Earl (Weaver) could go home and think up what he was going to do next year.” – Steve Palermo (RIP) 

Most Useless Headline of the Week: “Mookie Betts thinks Malik Monk could help Celtics” – Hey, we all love Mookie but please…

Headline of the week: Mom paralyzed after eating gas station nacho cheese. – My take? Hey, bad choice on her part! We’re you that hungry, really? 

The world’s largest cat, Omar, is a Maine Coon 14kg (over 30 lbs) and 3’ 11” from Melbourne, Australia. Apparently he loves kangaroo meat.

The NBA is paying tribute to former analyst Carl Sager with “Sager Strong” on microphones. Good stuff.

Washington’s Bryce Harper is off to a pretty good start to the season. He is currently (last week) leading the majors in batting average (.388), on-base % (.503), OPS – on-base plus slugging (1.271), 2^nd in slugging (.767), RBI (36) and tied for 2^nd in homeruns (13) and walks (30).  

On May 17, 1945, every game on the American League schedule was rained out for the fourth consecutive day. 

Down on the farm… Ty Buttrey, the Red Sox 6-foot-6, 230-pound reliever for Double-A Portland, is hitting 100-mph on the radar gun. The 2012 fourth round pick has a 2.25 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 11 outings (16 innings) and batters are hitting just .182 against him. Buttrey was converted to a reliever last season after going 0-6 with a 6.08 ERA as a starter. In 2015, the Red Sox also converted their 2012 second-round pick, Jamie Callahan, to the reliever role. In 11 outings (14 innings) between Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket, Callahan has struck out 21 with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP. 

RIP Steve Palermo, former major league umpire. Palermo died at age 67 after not only battling lung cancer but also the paralysis he suffered from a gunshot wound in 1991. Some of you may recall that Palermo, along with four other bystanders, jumped in to help two waitresses being beaten in a parking lot outside of a Dallas restaurant. Palermo was known as one of the best umpires of his time and he never shied from a good, heated argument. He had some memorable ones with Earl Weaver.

Trivia answer #1: Washington (DYK, on Texas State Highway 130, a privately-owned toll road that connects San Antonio and Austin, you can legally drive 85 mph!)

Trivia answer #2: Tim Raines 

I don’t recall whether it was the late Pete Anxhelm or Chris Berman from whom I first heard reference to the ‘Mendoza Line’. DYK, on May 22, 1982 Mario Mendoza, who later would become a hitting instructor(!), reaches first on a fielder’s choice ending his nine-year career with a .215 batting average. The Ranger infielder’s name will become infamous as players struggling at the plate will be described as performing below the ‘Medoza Line’.

RIP David “Munnsy” “Chief” Munns (57). WAY to $%^&ing soon. As funny, loving, solid, stand-up guy as you’re ever going to meet.

And RIP Mrs. McKay. Always love for the old neighborhood Moms.

“Rally sons of Notre Dame:

Sing her glory and sound her fame,

Raise her Gold and Blue

And cheer with voices true:

Rah, rah for Notre Dame

We will fight in ev-ry game,

Strong of heart and true to her name

We will ne-er forget her

And will cheer her ever

Loyal to Notre Dame

 

Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame,

Wake up the echoes cheering her name,

Send a volley cheer on high,

Shake down the thunder from the sky.

What though the odds be great or small

Old Notre Dame will win over all,

While her sons are marching

Onward to victory.”

Briefly.

Today’s forecast, alcohol.  Low standards, poor decisions.

Trivia: What year did the Texas Rangers last win the World Series?

Last Friday’s game between the Midwest League South Bend Cubs and the Clinton Lumberkings was tied 6-6 after 8 innings but continued through 18 innings, still knotted at 6-6. Due to a curfew, the game was suspended and resumed the next night before their next scheduled game. Of course the game ended 7-6 after the 19^th inning.

 Don’t talk about yourself, we’ll do that after you leave. 

If an orange is an orange, why isn’t a lime a green or a lemon a yellow? 

Thanks to my wife and son, I have become a recent fan of the avocado. Apparently, I am not alone. The price of avocados has set a record, more than doubling since last year.  Mexico provides 82% of the avocados in the United States and since 2000, shipments have increased from 24 million pounds to a whopping 1.76 billion pounds in 2015. Worldwide demand is up, too. Shortages in New Zealand have sparked avocado thefts while Mexican exports to China have been growing at a rate of 250% per year. 

You can’t make this up. Roy Riegel, Tom McDonald’s childhood friend and fellow New York Mets superfan, died in 2008 at the age of 48. McDonald kept Riegel’s ashes in a peanut can wrapped in Mets ticket stubs but wasn’t sure what to do with them. The answer? Flush his friend’s ashes down the toilet. Really. McDonald has flushed scoops of Riegel’s ashes at 16 Major League stadiums around the country (not sure whether Fenway is on the list). McDonald calls it the “perfect tribute” to his friend, “the best plumber you ever saw”. There are rules to the tribute; a baseball game must be in progress when the ashes are flushed, and if McDonald also has to use the facilities, “I always flush in between.” McDonald plans to make a final flush at North Carolina’s Athletic Park, where the movie Bull Durham was filmed. 

If you were a friend or relative of the Red Sox’s Dave Marrero and you knew he was playing last Sunday, then you heard the Sox scored 17 runs on 15 hits including 5 homeruns, you would have wondered how well Dave played?? Well, not so much. Marrero was the only player without a hit going 0-5, struck out once, left three men on base and hit into a double play. Doh!

Trivia answer : The Rangers have never won a World Series.

Briefly.

Trivia question #1: Who ran the fastest Kentucky Derby? Kingman, Genuine Risk, Secretariat, American Pharoah, Seattle Slew

Trivia question #2: What is the entry fee for the Kentucky Derby?

I came across a reference to a first baseman as a “first sacker.”

I hear Nordstrom is coming out with underwear with skid marks. They’ll sell for $100 a pair.

This is wrong on countless levels. 32-year old Motaparthi Vamshi Krishna from Hyderabad, India was arrested for allegedly staging an elaborate hoax about an airport hijack plot. According to a statement, he emailed Mumbai police claiming to be a woman who overheard six men at a hotel plotting to hijack planes in the cities of Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai the next day. But Krishna ended up admitting he made it all up after police tracked him down by tracing the IP address on the computer the email was sent off from. Krishna staged the hoax after his online girlfriend proposed a holiday to Mumbai but he couldn’t afford it and was afraid she wouldn’t “speak” to him again if he said no. He created a fake airline ticket, emailed it to his girlfriend, then tipped off police about the phony terror plot from an internet caf�. His thought was that if the airport cancelled the flight it wouldn’t be his fault! Krishna was arrested on four charges, including impersonation and providing false information. He could face five years in jail and a fine. Oh, and he is married and has a child.

I very rarely watch America’s Funniest Home Videos but had it on last Sunday. Difficult to get through three in a row without crackin’ up.

“And down the stretch they come!”

I watched Sports Center the other morning and saw that the NHL playoffs are still going on. My apologies to my puckhead friends.

For those in the area, remember that big, unwelcomed snowstorm we had in March?? No, neither do I.

Paul Pierce. I was never his biggest fan but, he did help bring another banner to Boston. Good for him.

The Baltimore Orioles. What happened with Adam Jones is wrong and isn’t going away any time soon. Can we agree that everything to do with Manny Machado is completely unrelated? Buck Showalter might tell you differently but those are two separate things going on there. While not to downplay the inexcusable Adam Jones issue, I want to talk about Machado. Did he deserve to be thrown at, yes. Both times. First, for spiking Pedroia and second as follow up to Mookie getting plunked. If you want to tell me that is wrong, then explain the justification for Mookie getting thrown at.

Deshaun Watson, Clemson, saw his dream come true last Thursday night when he was the first-round pick of the Houston Texans. It was a long, difficult road to that point for Watson. His mother had her tongue surgically removed as she battled cancer when Watson was a teenager, beating all odds to be there for her son on draft night. Shortly after Watson was drafted, he was handed a letter from his mom. He read it and almost instantly broke down, overwhelmed with emotion. An excerpt from the letter: “I watched you play your first flag football game all the way to the last college game. To be here at the NFL draft and see you walk across the stage is a dream come true. I’m so proud of the man and the person you became.” Very touching story indeed. And there I was thinking he was crying because he got drafted by the Texans!

I asked the “entry fee” for the Kentucky Derby. There are other fees, but what is the “entry fee”?

The Red Sox can’t hit. Go figure. And please, don’t bother telling me it has something to do with Big Papi. He ain’t walking through that door…

This week’s sign of the apocalypse: Complaints to Japanese game publisher Bandai Namco have landed their mark, and the studio is removing a boxing kangaroo named Roger Jr. from its upcoming fighting game,Tekken 7. It’s unclear whether it was PETA that lodged any complaints but executive producer Katsuhiro Harada says sensitivities towards kangaroos prompted the developers to omit Roger Jr.

My pick, State of Honor. DYK, the Kentucky Derby is the longest continuous held sporting event in the United States, first run in 1875.

The Celtics have become “must-watch basketball.”

Trivia answer #1: Secretariat (1:59.40 in 1973)

Trivia answer #2: $25,000. DTK, there is an additional “starting fee” of $25,000 as well as a minimum $500 “jockey mount fee” to starters that finish beyond third place.

“I know I dreamed you a sin and a lie

I have my freedom but I don’t have much time

Faith has been broken, tears must be cried

Let’s do some living after we die

Wild horse couldn’t drag me away

Wild, wild horses, we’ll ride them someday”

Briefly.

Trivia: On April 24, 1987 my brother Paul was celebrating his 25^th birthday. Also on that day, Rickey Henderson became the first player in baseball history to hit a home run off two different 300-game winners in the same game. Who were they?

HIT THE #$%^ING BALL!!!!!

At 101 years old, Man Kaur was just over a minute short of beating Usain Bolt’s world record in the 100-meter sprint. Kaur, dubbed “miracle from Chandigarh”, won gold at the World Masters Games in Auckland, New Zealand last Monday. Though she was the only competitor in the 100-years-and-over category, the sprinter legged out victory in 1 minute 14 seconds. As an added note, Kaur only began her athletic career at the ripe old age of 93.

Houston’s George Springer sat out Sunday’s game with a hamstring issue. At the time, Springer was the active MLB leader in consecutive games played at 205! Why the exclamation point?? You may recall a guy by the name of Cal Ripken Jr. once played in 2,632 consecutive games.

“Saves” in baseball are so overrated. Take for example last Sunday’s Sox game. Craig Kimbrel pitches to one batter in a 6-2 win and picks up the save. That’s a joke.

A South Dakota man was arrested outside a Sioux Falls house fire on Sunday, though the arrest had nothing to do with the blaze. Rather, police say the man tried to push past police and fire personnel in an attempt to reenter his home and “save” his beer. Police say the man was told to stay outside but persisted in his attempts. “The incredibly poor judgement could have put many responders at risk.” Personally, I like the effort!

Though the Celtics have won three straight over Chicago after the first two losses, they’ve done so with Rondo on the bench (injured). What I would really like to see is for them to close out the series with Rondo on the floor for the Bulls. Then again if they advance with Rondo on the pine, well that works too!

If there was a bridge from the U.S. to the U.K., which side would we drive on?

How bad are the Red Sox hitting woes? They are 2-5 in their last 7 games with an ERA of 1.95. I’ll tell you, they better hit against the Cubbies!

I did watch some of the NFL draft last night. I didn’t really have interest but then again it is intriguing in many ways. The Steelers marched out Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis to announce their 1^st round pick, as well as to give a nice tribute to Dan Rooney. That in itself was pretty cool. BTW, the Steelers selected J.J. Watt’s brother, T.J. Watt. DYK, their father is referred to as Hey Jay, mother is named B.J., they have a gay brother named Gay Jay and a cat named Blue Jay. OK, I made up everything after T.J….

If Chris Mortenson isn’t, or wasn’t sick, he sure looks it. Terrible.

Tough it is far too early to start mentioning Chris Sale in the same breath as Pedro Martinez, he really is the most fun to watch for the Sox since Pedro.

Trivia answer: Phil Niekro and Steve Carlton of the Cleveland Indians

“Don’t let your meat loaf.” – Anonymous

“And you wake up in the morning

With your head on fire

And your eyes too bloody to see

Go on and cry in your coffee

But don’t come bitchin’ to me.”

Good night everybody!