Briefly. Hmmm, it didn’t turn out that way…
Merry Christmas (and Happy Holidays, I guess) to everyone reading and their families. I love Christmas time!
If anyone is alone with no family or nobody to spend Christmas with, please let me know… I need to borrow some chairs. (Oldie, but still gets a chuckle)
Trivia #1: What does CERN stand for?
Trivia #2: How much is a petabyte?
Trivia #3: What country’s tourism record was broken between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30? – Japan, United States, Iceland, Spain, France, Italy, Dracut
Trivia #4: In the movie “Home Alone,” where are the McCallisters going on vacation when they accidentally leave Kevin behind? – Greece, Paris, Disney, Hawaii, Aruba, Italy
Trivia #5: Which NBA player has played the most Christmas Day games – Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James?
Trivia #6: From what country does the poinsettia plant originate from?
Trivia #7: What was the first company that used Santa Claus in their advertising?
On this date: December 20, 69 (that’s right, 69 AD) General Vespasian’s troops occupy Rome after defeating the Emperor Vitellius
December 20, 1820, Missouri imposed a $1 bachelor tax on unmarried men aged between 21 & 50 (Can you imagine how many men then moved out of Missouri!)
December 20, 1967, Ian Anderson and Glenn Cornick form rock group “Jethro Tull” in Blackpool, England
December 20, 1969, Peter, Paul & Mary’s cover of John Denver’s song “Leaving On A Jet Plane” reaches #1
December 20, 1974, “The Godfather Part II”, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1975)
Tomorrow is the shortest day of the year. It’s all downhill after that.
Rare ending to the first half in last night’s Denver/LA Chargers game. With eight seconds left in the half, and the Broncos leading 21-10, they punted the ball away in hopes of the time expiring and sending both teams to the locker room. The good news is that the clock hit zeroes – the bad news, however, is that Denver was called for fair catch interference. Of course, a half cannot end on a defensive penalty or a flag by the kicking team, so the Chargers had the opportunity for a “fair catch kick” after the penalty moved them up 15 yards. Cameron Dicker was able to line up for a 57-yard kick without any sort of rush, in fact, the ball didn’t even need to be snapped. He nailed it. That hadn’t happened in the NFL since 1976.
The Army/Navy football game, last Saturday, is such an event. The tradition, rivalry and respect given from all directions.
Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.
Useless information supposed to fire my imagination: The Bruins are tied for their most wins when trailing by 2 or more goals when entering the 3rd period in team history 2024/25 – 3, 2020/21 – 3, 2017/18 – 3.
The U.S. national debt is $36,189,345,826,140.62. Oops, sorry. That was yesterday. Right now, it’s up to $36,248, 090, 851, 924.00.
I kid you not. The other day while channel surfing, I came across the 2024 Plumbing National Championship. The winner, from Peabody, MA, took home $10K and a new set of tires. You cannot make that shit up.
Go away: Luigi Mangione, the thug who shot the healthcare CEO in the back. Just invoke capital punishment law (not that simple, I know) and get this guy out of our lives.
“Understanding the question is half an answer.” – Socrates
This week’s sign of the apocalypse: NYPD officers were seen sitting in the entire front row of the court room where Luigi Mangione’s court proceedings took place in the Blair County Courthouse. Several people outside the courthouse held signs that read “Deny, Defend, Depose,” the same message that Mangione allegedly left on shell casings at the scene of Thompson’s murder and words that are commonly used among insurance providers when they reject claims.
Fewer people are watching the NBA than in previous years. Ratings for NBA games on ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV are down 25% through Saturday and there are many ideas floating about why. Three-pointer propensity and lack of defense are the two main bugaboos observers point to. Oh, don’t me going about the state of professional basketball…
Smuggling drugs, you’re doing it wrong. A Florida fisherman hoping to catch a big one recently hauled in more than 50 pounds of cocaine wrapped in watertight plastic and branded with a scorpion. “If you happened to have lost or misplaced approximately 25 kilos of cocaine and would like to have your property returned, please contact our Narcotics Agents and we will be more than happy to reunite you with your lost property,” the Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey joked alongside a photo of the drugs.
OK folks, you can relax now. The world’s largest hornet, an invasive breed dubbed the “murder hornet” for its dangerous sting and ability to slaughter a honey bee hive in a matter of hours, has been declared eradicated in the US, five years after being spotted for the first time in Washington state near the Canadian border.
Good news: For us football fans, that is. After last night’s NFL game, tonight is open but that is followed by one or more games on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday (Christmas), Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Whoa!
Bad news: ESPN’s Randy Moss has been diagnosed with cancer. What can I say, I like the guy.
Winning an award, you’re doing it wrong: Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty’s, a finalist for the Heisman Trophy last Saturday night, came up short to two-way Colorado star Travis Hunter in the voting. Jeanty thought so highly of his chances to win the award, he wrote and practiced an acceptance speech and even told the world he did so. DOH!
Article I’ll skip: Santa Claus might be real after all as a stunning new discovery proves it
This just in, the Patriots’ QB Drake Maye has been ruled out of Sunday’s game versus the Bills, due to a back injury. Apparently, Maye suffered the injury sometime during the past several games where he was carrying the team on his back…
Trivia #1 answer: What does CERN stand for? – European Organization for Nuclear Research
Trivia #2 answer: How much is a petabyte? – 1,000 terabytes or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
Trivia #3 answer: What country’s tourism record was broken between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30? – Japan, United States, Iceland, Spain, France, Italy, Dracut – Japan saw 33.4 million visitors (247,500 were Americans)
Trivia #4 answer: In the movie “Home Alone,” where are the McCallisters going on vacation when they accidentally leave Kevin behind? – Greece, Paris, Disney, Hawaii, Aruba, Italy – They were going to Paris
Trivia #5 answer: Which NBA player has played the most Christmas Day games? – Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James? – Kobe Bryant (16)
Trivia #6 answer: From what country does the poinsettia plant originate from? – Mexico
Trivia #7 answer: What was the first company that used Santa Claus in their advertising? – Coca-Cola
Speaking of Japan, KFC is the preferred Christmas meal in Japan. Hey, I read it on the internet!
Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.
Be careful out there. (It’s a jungle!)
“Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
Happy National Underdog Day.
Ya’ll got 5 days to get in the spirit. Let’s go!
First, the Eagles
Then, the boss!
Ed's Head On Friday 