Updating some Christmas songs to my library, I stumbled upon some good ones. The songs may not be brand new, but are new to me. I thought I'd share in case you haven't heard the song, or, maybe not seen the video. Just four of them here plus a selfish audio track. The links take you to YouTube, so you'll have to come back after each one. I also apologize for any ads you may have to endure...(continued)



Lakers Sit Superstars, Lose to Lowly Spurs
December 18, 2023

Imagine being a Laker fan that lives in the San Antonio area. Or just a fan of the NBA, plunking down several hundred dollars for a couple of tickets to see the Lakers and the Spurs. 7-foot-3 inch rookie Victor Wenbamyama plays for San Antonio, but LeBron James sits out because he played the night before. Or Anthony Davis decides to skip a night to nurse a sore hip...(continued)




Ohtani Picks Dodgers, For 700 Million Dollars
December 11, 2023

Shohei Ohtani is a very quiet and private person. Now, the Japanese-born baseball megastar is a super rich, very quiet, and private person. Ohtani announced Saturday that he has agreed to a ten year, 700 million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers announced the signing today...(continued)




Unbeaten Doesn't Matter: FSU Not in Playoff
December 4, 2023

During the BCS era, and the first nine seasons of a four-team college football playoff, it was fun to root for chaos during the first weekend in December. For one thing, an SEC team, or maybe even two, were almost assured to get in. For another, a west coast team was usually a long shot. And finally, we've grown tired of Alabama, Ohio State, and in past years, Clemson. A team without any losses, though, was something we wanted to see no matter who they were...(continued)



Turn Out the Lights, the Pac-12 Party is Over
November 27, 2023

Maybe it's fitting that the final regular season game in Pac-12 football history featured two teams that have played each other every year since 1922, in a building that opened the same year, just over a hundred years ago. The sentimentality was there, certainly for the broadcast, although the home team didn't seem to care all that much. Cal routed UCLA at the Rose Bowl 33-7 Saturday night, turning out the lights on a conference whose roots go back to 1915...(continued)



UCLA Beats USC in Final Pac-12 Gridiron Clash
November 20, 2023

The rivalry is not going anywhere. UCLA and USC will still face each other on the football field toward the end of every college football season, but it won't be like it's been. The Pac-12 conference will be nothing but a memory this time next year, with both schools jumping to the inaccurately named Big Ten. The final meeting as Pac-12 foes, however, belongs to the Bruins...(continued)



The Marvel Universe Is Massive. Maybe Too Big?
November 13, 2023

Good news and bad news for superhero comic book blockbuster movie fans. The good news is The Marvels, which opened on Friday, was number one at the box office this weekend. The bad news is that it grossed 47 million dollars in ticket sales, by far the lowest ever for a Marvel movie, and there are now 33 of them...(continued)




Rangers Deserve Being Called World Champions
November 6, 2023

At least the right team won. Not because the Arizona Diamondbacks knocked out the Dodgers, or that former Dodger Corey Seager was named MVP, but because at least the Texas Rangers had a fairly respectable record. When you expand the playoffs, you invite less deserving teams. The team in the post-season this year least deserving of all, almost won the whole thing...(continued)




During This Series, It's the Little Joys We Miss
October 30, 2023

As Halloween arrives, baseball winds down. November World Series games are guaranteed now, but many of us remember when trick-or-treating came after a champion was crowned. During Saturday's 9-1 blowout victory by the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Texas Rangers in game two, my mind began to wander. As sort of a 'seventh-inning stretch', if you will, here are seven memories about how baseball used to be. They aren't ranked in any particular order, but maybe oldest to newest. It's still a great game, but not as we remember growing up. Get out the rocking chair, and feel free to use your old person voice...(continued)



Finally Some Drama: Two Game Sevens
October 23, 2023

It looked to be a ho-hum October. Baseball's Wild Card round of the playoffs featured four two-game sweeps. In the best-of three Division Series, there were only two games more than the minimum required. But for just the fourth time, in each League Championship Series, which determine the participants in the World Series, we have a deciding, winner-take-all, game seven...(continued)



Dodgers Go Three and Out; Texas is Unbeaten
October 16, 2023

Major League Baseball is down to its Final Four now, and while it's nothing like the semifinals that college basketball typically has to offer, there still are a few good storylines. You just have to try to put aside the fact that all the good teams are gone, and believe that teams with mediocre seasons still can play good playoff baseball games...(continued)




Is 100 Wins Too Many in MLB's Regular Season?
October 9, 2023

Professional sports is about winning. Right? I mean a video clip a few years ago of football coach Herm Edwards saying that you play to win the game went viral. It was an obvious statement, but he felt at the time that it needed to be said. Wins matter, and the more the better, but baseball teams with too many of them seem to be getting penalized...(continued)




MLB's Final Weekend Brings Medicore Drama
October 2, 2023

Year Two of Major League Baseball's expanded playoffs is almost here. Just a few more hours before the sport puts its mediocrity on full display for the world to absorb. Teams that weren't good enough to win their own division co-mingle with division winners whose records weren't that good—all for a chance to upset the good teams in the next round, and perhaps make it all the way to the World Series...(continued)






I'm Too Young To Be Old!
July 3, 2023

In news stories about things like spending habits, home ownership, or cell phone use, they will talk about so-called 'older Americans'. Those are defined as people over 60, and while I am not quite there yet, something happened that accelerated me quite a bit. I spent the past week in the hospital...(continued)