tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52470374997440369712024-03-09T03:29:56.120-05:00The Baldest TruthMike Nadel's occasionally serious look at sports (and other stuff)Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.comBlogger858125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-7887870923580609122023-11-22T16:17:00.003-05:002023-11-22T16:17:36.060-05:00Gobble, gobble ... Time Again for the Sports Turkey of the Year<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> ^</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">I've been picking a sports Turkey of the Year for 26 autumns -- first as the Chicago sports columnist for the Copley and GateHouse newspaper chains, and later as the keeper of The Baldest Truth -- and there's never a shortage of candidates.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNKr-HIFXn0q3zwvSpXFsaNNpmL5Y5gmuMCNG-TQRQjprYIo8U9WffqzWLWQj2beKnlnjBVtXJYVoSJYGeDLHfAj5w-ubJFfv2IO7FfvTAU96UQYFrQFzypnpmcVj1AOhGQn7rsVTwR5HZ4VRhxCkO9gu8JQeqGvVhFOr9VhGxxRQgSZqoMfkhcTjx5s/s400/turkey%20of%20the%20year%20image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNKr-HIFXn0q3zwvSpXFsaNNpmL5Y5gmuMCNG-TQRQjprYIo8U9WffqzWLWQj2beKnlnjBVtXJYVoSJYGeDLHfAj5w-ubJFfv2IO7FfvTAU96UQYFrQFzypnpmcVj1AOhGQn7rsVTwR5HZ4VRhxCkO9gu8JQeqGvVhFOr9VhGxxRQgSZqoMfkhcTjx5s/w400-h266/turkey%20of%20the%20year%20image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span style="font-size: large;">That's the case again this year, as there were plenty of losers and lunkheads and dopes and mopes to go around.</span></p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before I get to the 2023 Turkey countdown, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial;">here were my selections over the first quarter century for this illustrious "honor" ...</span></span></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2022 -- <b>Tony La Russa</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2021 --<b> Aaron Rodgers</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2020 -- <b>Donald F. Trump</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2019 -- <b>Antonio Brown</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2018 -- <b>J.R. Smith</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2017 -- <b>Kyle Shanahan</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2016 -- <b>Pat McCrory</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2015 -- <b>Derrick Rose</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2014 -- <b>Roger Goodell and Ray Rice</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2013 -- <b>Alex Rodriguez</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2012 -- <b>U.S. Ryder Cup Team</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2011 -- <b>Joe Paterno</b> (and his Penn State enablers)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2010 -- <b>Mark McGwire</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2009 -- <b>Milton Bradley</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2008 -- <b>Choking Cubbies</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2007 -- <b>Charlie Weis</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2006 -- <b>Aramis Ramirez</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2005 -- <b>Andy MacPhail, Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2004 -- <b>Sammy Sosa</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2003 -- <b>Sammy Sosa</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2002 -- <b>Dick Jauron</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2001 -- <b>David Wells and Frank Thomas</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2000 -- <b>Bobby Knight</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1999 -- <b>Jerry Krause</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1998 -- <b>Mike McCaskey</b></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">After sifting through a list that included the likes of Ja Morant, Bill Belichick, Dillon Brooks, Jarred Kelenic, Jaden McDaniels, Miles Bridges, Kyrie Irving, Glen Kuiper, Sean Payton, Frank Reich, Brandon Staley, Connor Stalions, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Matt Eberflus, James Harden, Josh McDaniels, Tony DeAngelo, Draymond Green and plenty of others ... here is the 2023 Final Four:</span></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Alphonzo Tuputala</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">No, you're not wrong ... the proper reaction is, "Who?" So let me explain.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tuputala is a linebacker for the University of Washington. On Nov. 11 against Utah, he intercepted a deflected pass and raced down the right sideline for an apparent pick-6.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">All good so far, right? Well, about 2 yards before he reached the goal line -- somehow thinking he was already in the end zone -- he just <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taDyCfsbs4o" target="_blank">dropped the football</a>. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBERCgYTfbGBWK7C0un3l9J3dVz6vPulidsD9fg8fBEei7YpyEoDgBvr2ivw8hoPxAtTU-jvNLGet0wbUnFlDG1AB2y1vfiZdjIT8PSOuqXlXl-JCCe7jrcNALr9r8qYq4JCQTJyv0DqwCSYBlOPfSodnijc_IhBibkhif2REwZgECOz-Tf8CPsTp6C4g/s760/tuputala%20drop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="760" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBERCgYTfbGBWK7C0un3l9J3dVz6vPulidsD9fg8fBEei7YpyEoDgBvr2ivw8hoPxAtTU-jvNLGet0wbUnFlDG1AB2y1vfiZdjIT8PSOuqXlXl-JCCe7jrcNALr9r8qYq4JCQTJyv0DqwCSYBlOPfSodnijc_IhBibkhif2REwZgECOz-Tf8CPsTp6C4g/w400-h301/tuputala%20drop.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">As Washington players mobbed Tuputala in the end zone, congratulating him for what everyone thought was a touchdown, an alert Utah player dived on the football.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">That ended the celebration pretty quickly. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Something like this occurs a couple times every season. I'm always baffled why athletes can't wait two more strides to celebrate, but I'm kind of glad it happens because it's always good for a laugh.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Mario Cristobal</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">All the Miami coach had to do was instruct his quarterback to take a knee, and the Hurricanes would have beaten Georgia Tech on Oct. 7. But instead, for whatever reason, he called a running play, the tailback fumbled, Georgia Tech recovered, and four plays later the Ramblin' Wreck used a long TD pass to wreck what had been an unbeaten Miami season.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-q_K6HMuczFS9JOqvycOTkDqlSD0BQ-IqKecGZgxauvVJb5uextcwJ1RAnynJ2p12r_M_nMqoHiG5D6duQscf9RFjfum1ldOJJOf6ChRpQrmcASeO4IIIXwj78azrlxzV4VXwCfGGWV2OqHQ5Qdc_CHdUWuJH99ObpXTWjdTZOEo-Rk4H6QoN-OQmFug/s491/cristobal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="491" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-q_K6HMuczFS9JOqvycOTkDqlSD0BQ-IqKecGZgxauvVJb5uextcwJ1RAnynJ2p12r_M_nMqoHiG5D6duQscf9RFjfum1ldOJJOf6ChRpQrmcASeO4IIIXwj78azrlxzV4VXwCfGGWV2OqHQ5Qdc_CHdUWuJH99ObpXTWjdTZOEo-Rk4H6QoN-OQmFug/w640-h478/cristobal.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">"What we did at the end was a wrong decision," Cristobal said.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jeez ... ya think?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Turns out, it wasn't even the first time Cristobal had made that kind of boneheaded decision. But it was the first time he got burned by that turkey of a call.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's all part of him being on the hot seat with an 11-12 record in two seasons at The U.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Grant Williams</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then with the Celtics, Williams trash-talked Miami's Jimmy Butler after hitting a 3 to give Boston a 9-point </span><span style="font-family: arial;">lead midway through the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. The two got in each other's faces and had to be separated. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfv4yqReKdrFk53TeJlJ6Qb3jtVM3spu6YHWWwzBzcHSK7yXuTn24WqhE1wEmNvwFTFiETPAhMmQ0lodSHxVXttZjjtKMvnYjlSewCdFF_Awtw0HTUDCRgUDG2goNwpw3XQ0uHfp_RITrP8ZgdiLj5-u_Li0_JSUx-Sni6GKh0QcjqImL7F9zietdiXc/s788/grant%20williams%20-%20butler.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="788" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfv4yqReKdrFk53TeJlJ6Qb3jtVM3spu6YHWWwzBzcHSK7yXuTn24WqhE1wEmNvwFTFiETPAhMmQ0lodSHxVXttZjjtKMvnYjlSewCdFF_Awtw0HTUDCRgUDG2goNwpw3XQ0uHfp_RITrP8ZgdiLj5-u_Li0_JSUx-Sni6GKh0QcjqImL7F9zietdiXc/w400-h263/grant%20williams%20-%20butler.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span style="font-size: large;">The extra-motivated Butler promptly went on a scoring binge, almost all against Williams, in leading the Heat to a comeback victory - a key game in Miami's series upset of the heavily favored Celtics.</span></p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Often mentioned as the NBA's best team during the regular season, the Celtics were denied a trip to the Finals by the Heat, Butler and, well, Grant Williams.</span></span></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>And Now ... The 2023 Turkey of the Year ...</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>PAT FITZGERALD</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's hard to believe that hazing still takes place on college campuses at all, let alone within major athletic programs.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But sadly, there was a long, tawdry culture of hazing within the Northwestern program under coach Pat Fitzgerald.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzneazdYX1o1a6Al3FadEpyDXPYvvOwTpvW3TesT3lINBrymMq6b_YL-qC4KznfCg9YqoNngU9P2JbFoDyNVHOJr3J7obWrCs3dm7pgZTSZIw_s_hkJ8-Mik0SbLVYWVy30shoYpTMaX-x5m5ssBqsSKV_TGHkqwggPO_ESzW028B305Kd8zjrOnj7_g/s816/pat%20fitzgerald.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="816" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzneazdYX1o1a6Al3FadEpyDXPYvvOwTpvW3TesT3lINBrymMq6b_YL-qC4KznfCg9YqoNngU9P2JbFoDyNVHOJr3J7obWrCs3dm7pgZTSZIw_s_hkJ8-Mik0SbLVYWVy30shoYpTMaX-x5m5ssBqsSKV_TGHkqwggPO_ESzW028B305Kd8zjrOnj7_g/w400-h338/pat%20fitzgerald.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span style="font-size: large;">He of course denied that he knew anything about it, but evidence uncovered in an investigation suggested otherwise. And his denials were laughable on their face, anyway.</span></p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">College coaches are ultra-controlling people -- by design and by necessity -- and they know everything going on within their programs. Indeed, it's part of the recruiting pitch they give to athletes and, especially, to athletes' parents: <i>"I am in charge, and I will take care of your son."</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Pat Fitzgerald failed that mission completely -- athletes were sexually abused and emotionally assaulted under his watch -- and last summer he was deservedly fired.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It marked an abrupt end to what had mostly been a feel-good story: Chicago-area kid becomes an All-American linebacker for a Northwestern team that finally makes the Rose Bowl after decades of futility, eventually takes charge of the program, and becomes the school's winningest coach ever.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thing is, even the football part of it hadn't elicited many good feelings in recent years. Northwestern went 14-31 in Fitzgerald's final four seasons, including three last-place campaigns in which the team went 1-8 in the Big Ten. Even before the hazing allegations, Northwestern football had returned to being completely irrelevant.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Nationally, people only paid attention to the program again when scandal broke out ... and Fitzgerald was the face of it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">^</span></p><p><br /></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-27016244419432183042023-08-06T21:52:00.000-04:002023-08-06T21:52:49.319-04:0040 Years of Fun with My Fabulous Robbie<p><span style="font-size: large;"> ^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Time really has flown, because I've been lucky enough to have 40 years of marital fun with the sweetest, funniest, most beautiful woman in the world!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It all started back on Aug. 6, 1983, when Robbie and I said our vows at Illinois Beach State Park.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjXqNFgP99yc6GGJBpb1IBP0aaW2WSpJJCEgm-spj2Ud1ShqI3XxIDWTwxeqoBhhZCCWARWktxdkBJC9MvJ90b94_rRQo2jTn6yMkkJn5DGq6DOX6M3DVsTKYnabuAxYxRx_wA-vO28XWoQzuu-g6r-_KkkU88v5F4lAnGB540-uFyDx55E7H5i3BGbY/s254/MR%20wedding.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="172" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDjXqNFgP99yc6GGJBpb1IBP0aaW2WSpJJCEgm-spj2Ud1ShqI3XxIDWTwxeqoBhhZCCWARWktxdkBJC9MvJ90b94_rRQo2jTn6yMkkJn5DGq6DOX6M3DVsTKYnabuAxYxRx_wA-vO28XWoQzuu-g6r-_KkkU88v5F4lAnGB540-uFyDx55E7H5i3BGbY/w271-h400/MR%20wedding.JPG" width="271" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">And it's still going strong - our great day was capped off with the Randalls taking us out to celebrate #40.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherAKYQfrYlFtWgqgoYWXyNyXvTqffcifl5Y9zwN5Stm_5wdANLxC2RDLoTn0jXW9YKQ0RFQ26DngR2P2ltP8QXdoEQw4u4uwyLaw9A7U7kCzCoZsp2yWFfL-AEywSiINQGj_i6wNfwRYrdW60vms85lAhJcEc4LncnDhenkoyWoJOMC8CT899uafUB64/s4032/IMG_7355.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherAKYQfrYlFtWgqgoYWXyNyXvTqffcifl5Y9zwN5Stm_5wdANLxC2RDLoTn0jXW9YKQ0RFQ26DngR2P2ltP8QXdoEQw4u4uwyLaw9A7U7kCzCoZsp2yWFfL-AEywSiINQGj_i6wNfwRYrdW60vms85lAhJcEc4LncnDhenkoyWoJOMC8CT899uafUB64/w300-h400/IMG_7355.HEIC" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><span style="font-size: x-large;">In between, well, let's let the photos do most of the talking ...</span><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Life wouldn't have been nearly as fun if not for the joys of our lives, Katie and Ben.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZw7VI5NWn7mgLnjcc5V_x23oNIslJ-D8Xbwwf7hBu-vhoC1HfO5Qxl6kFDAMSm7vDAnUe7_HrhzskkLFShkPb8SwcUlrzu04FzXYGm9iHgEfJXHLa-WFKPl-GFS606-0IbZW8_cGU26Vn_RfZPYcPvCJoerkeHaGKtcVbe5IZ51zXAwS0ctHfPh4BDs4/s447/mike%20rob%20D-L%20wedding.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="373" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZw7VI5NWn7mgLnjcc5V_x23oNIslJ-D8Xbwwf7hBu-vhoC1HfO5Qxl6kFDAMSm7vDAnUe7_HrhzskkLFShkPb8SwcUlrzu04FzXYGm9iHgEfJXHLa-WFKPl-GFS606-0IbZW8_cGU26Vn_RfZPYcPvCJoerkeHaGKtcVbe5IZ51zXAwS0ctHfPh4BDs4/w334-h400/mike%20rob%20D-L%20wedding.JPG" width="334" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3gaO2B6w-yxd1c0a887J5mwTiWJOS1l3jyKSeYt-pRtZgG8dHT9DxrIf-g7wzmilMZL6LawH-ALwApHM4yw2154a8N5Qsed9ZXbNVB7uJvlpTdmeVXTqbgTCiuNYEPfX-u0gXgSmI38Yi0TnvKyKEdTZYuhVX4ZtCzmtcJIMxr5icG_TPORIGcf2Qxc/s400/MRKB%20seaboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3gaO2B6w-yxd1c0a887J5mwTiWJOS1l3jyKSeYt-pRtZgG8dHT9DxrIf-g7wzmilMZL6LawH-ALwApHM4yw2154a8N5Qsed9ZXbNVB7uJvlpTdmeVXTqbgTCiuNYEPfX-u0gXgSmI38Yi0TnvKyKEdTZYuhVX4ZtCzmtcJIMxr5icG_TPORIGcf2Qxc/w400-h300/MRKB%20seaboard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><p>And now, thanks to Ben (and Sammi) and Katie (and Ben R), we've got four more joys of our lives: Jack, Logan, Owen and Piper (and a 5th on the way) ...</p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcUCNp8XcAXuTDDW52d_fPFine9HzZkJPl3E8TDXReOSKaDHOaIEh56G2_H_W2WSQOYEFp6mlfCa-aoY_7_Icydbm5O1jN0Bn6B_Ip4a7Jfw7uWJRZCAv1Dw56rF8oCqxY4D3ejCGAVtITr2Ez_l8Bjn64DLhxWFbd8YXEq9WJ1zfqLJHJx-G9UVBECg/s1024/mrlj%20littles.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcUCNp8XcAXuTDDW52d_fPFine9HzZkJPl3E8TDXReOSKaDHOaIEh56G2_H_W2WSQOYEFp6mlfCa-aoY_7_Icydbm5O1jN0Bn6B_Ip4a7Jfw7uWJRZCAv1Dw56rF8oCqxY4D3ejCGAVtITr2Ez_l8Bjn64DLhxWFbd8YXEq9WJ1zfqLJHJx-G9UVBECg/w300-h400/mrlj%20littles.webp" width="300" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGM-7nzCaUVxEsVB-8P0Cna-noKAMoNSkmD6lgPmc0J6NHA3oN7N_xEvFZYgkYVxno7p7BCqsozqeU1JrbY7bw1UEi262BWhEYcxFju3TFJ0tr_09rMqKcyGR-LyOx77rv8HKP1dvFV1TdAzHagDfDpqblfv6DtDdVmLRC7UWsO9iuL4DPs-cA8PTKNk/s2049/IMG_8066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2049" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihGM-7nzCaUVxEsVB-8P0Cna-noKAMoNSkmD6lgPmc0J6NHA3oN7N_xEvFZYgkYVxno7p7BCqsozqeU1JrbY7bw1UEi262BWhEYcxFju3TFJ0tr_09rMqKcyGR-LyOx77rv8HKP1dvFV1TdAzHagDfDpqblfv6DtDdVmLRC7UWsO9iuL4DPs-cA8PTKNk/w400-h300/IMG_8066.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Not to mention man's (and woman's) best friends: Chelsea, Bosco, Shadow ... and, for the last 12 1/2 years, Simmie.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQq1xEQsIzR01VHd4bAmz1qkmtbCe6m7tjxLvVAE8aC4lbArFuupxebJ8_f3K0DX1MyEqWG0ChxsSzR6V6_JUNJwCSCF7J3QwvwbgtGv98Og6yHL74v4TmXCr0FQRQS7DogtVLftrxx9SIMCWbWj1tuV927NyBYknSTLYutGJyhjWcEYcVt-K4Pu3g7A/s455/rob%20mike%20simmie.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="428" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQq1xEQsIzR01VHd4bAmz1qkmtbCe6m7tjxLvVAE8aC4lbArFuupxebJ8_f3K0DX1MyEqWG0ChxsSzR6V6_JUNJwCSCF7J3QwvwbgtGv98Og6yHL74v4TmXCr0FQRQS7DogtVLftrxx9SIMCWbWj1tuV927NyBYknSTLYutGJyhjWcEYcVt-K4Pu3g7A/w376-h400/rob%20mike%20simmie.PNG" width="376" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">And here comes lots and lots more fun!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Marquette Fun!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRqfUGTSJNeZNRei1cbvl2fTJ6eNUlFE-ipOCN8cFx32qFnCld-GOTmI29j9AiRRHsuuZz0ilNyrDbCXsLr8Ipc3CrvVCjDhLhq3TNJ2WacAd38mjE8Tx9YHJ7FJ4tLqze5Y7K2lFCKLWbZtw35Yys6Gu1x6QpIamno_IFSsR0mKxjOJXdz1uNVD8TdE/s589/rob%20mike%20sweethearts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="589" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRqfUGTSJNeZNRei1cbvl2fTJ6eNUlFE-ipOCN8cFx32qFnCld-GOTmI29j9AiRRHsuuZz0ilNyrDbCXsLr8Ipc3CrvVCjDhLhq3TNJ2WacAd38mjE8Tx9YHJ7FJ4tLqze5Y7K2lFCKLWbZtw35Yys6Gu1x6QpIamno_IFSsR0mKxjOJXdz1uNVD8TdE/w400-h208/rob%20mike%20sweethearts.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Chicago Skyline Fun!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV82UH-dS8Cx2bxUiYHQ3dBP3scBWuGzlXEaJ_6ITH1iPofKqqOyTh3Do1veMvVDEsshpzo_XqsrehLXIysQMaYOEZ4Yie1y-BVSpum6YUuYA_NfoLnXaEFi95-ezcemsJrvEVnlfRTwl-pels9JXOifG1kZy-qcjCnGukZaIo7hKyr8KVkxngk7sEggg/s376/MR%201744%20belmont.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="376" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV82UH-dS8Cx2bxUiYHQ3dBP3scBWuGzlXEaJ_6ITH1iPofKqqOyTh3Do1veMvVDEsshpzo_XqsrehLXIysQMaYOEZ4Yie1y-BVSpum6YUuYA_NfoLnXaEFi95-ezcemsJrvEVnlfRTwl-pels9JXOifG1kZy-qcjCnGukZaIo7hKyr8KVkxngk7sEggg/w400-h269/MR%201744%20belmont.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Golf Fun!</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXL4V9M3TTMTrK-vJnTgiSJp3s0czC3OBJAc__-4423p3PswJ0Iwlv8UPxivvSYsxiskbysTbPSMAWKfv8lt3froOSUS3O0HSvrZnm5QyfOTOLQOeb-yDJlLcPN7RlR2xlu1khufwYvB8L3viStviINRdW8lPNRkhOeXI4X19n5zAm4-fKIvM8DPNxRA/s340/MR%20golf.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="340" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXL4V9M3TTMTrK-vJnTgiSJp3s0czC3OBJAc__-4423p3PswJ0Iwlv8UPxivvSYsxiskbysTbPSMAWKfv8lt3froOSUS3O0HSvrZnm5QyfOTOLQOeb-yDJlLcPN7RlR2xlu1khufwYvB8L3viStviINRdW8lPNRkhOeXI4X19n5zAm4-fKIvM8DPNxRA/w400-h238/MR%20golf.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Grand Canyon Fun!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pqc2c2tWsf4eU7ufngGRiJOINMToQRpVmQ19oFgDI9yo1U8OmTrfs7g0TyMi6duq-WVdzCXecX5keKEB9Sfe_7M4WuCjRcorojzVdXNNUjHG99OUhpeiSlrxbsLgr0oyZMXDjx1TsM3dgv5eydZ-HEvigwgkvkpyDVwxQwXi7tEg8pxht3MmdUfofcA/s2816/DSCN0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2112" data-original-width="2816" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pqc2c2tWsf4eU7ufngGRiJOINMToQRpVmQ19oFgDI9yo1U8OmTrfs7g0TyMi6duq-WVdzCXecX5keKEB9Sfe_7M4WuCjRcorojzVdXNNUjHG99OUhpeiSlrxbsLgr0oyZMXDjx1TsM3dgv5eydZ-HEvigwgkvkpyDVwxQwXi7tEg8pxht3MmdUfofcA/w400-h300/DSCN0180.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><p>Hawaii Fun!</p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9j-Syw2tY-jEpWutWa4ZHv_0SebGWaMutZqliqH4dP6Y7tZsijtxC_ZOaZ7QsyGvfarmHyg2X417IjPCmbJw2umCXdjpw2tmEUX0PTRZXVnTG03eS_aM338c5p9RrqVY7mJXFArJGcPsFku6leJVfbxrHAGUUfed6Wa5WIW-RE61nKve85X4d0lBBv3Y/s2816/DSCN0359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2112" data-original-width="2816" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9j-Syw2tY-jEpWutWa4ZHv_0SebGWaMutZqliqH4dP6Y7tZsijtxC_ZOaZ7QsyGvfarmHyg2X417IjPCmbJw2umCXdjpw2tmEUX0PTRZXVnTG03eS_aM338c5p9RrqVY7mJXFArJGcPsFku6leJVfbxrHAGUUfed6Wa5WIW-RE61nKve85X4d0lBBv3Y/w400-h300/DSCN0359.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Mexico Fun!</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhpUUe1ZGv_DCOjogitwKOGA0DASjQ3s9bcn1WfAHzMOFGMllAR49kBaR06aAWu6kdYCWNXIwh3AHzl391qa_sibTV4O0YYB9nk98I0ClIoRqYUC6x3ApHQAfFJJu1McylVBiZh06mP0NIB9YpuzMCFmCwkIRHnJwymJ5I9guFepIuIdfgSZICC7dtg0/s2816/DSCN0558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2112" data-original-width="2816" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhpUUe1ZGv_DCOjogitwKOGA0DASjQ3s9bcn1WfAHzMOFGMllAR49kBaR06aAWu6kdYCWNXIwh3AHzl391qa_sibTV4O0YYB9nk98I0ClIoRqYUC6x3ApHQAfFJJu1McylVBiZh06mP0NIB9YpuzMCFmCwkIRHnJwymJ5I9guFepIuIdfgSZICC7dtg0/w400-h300/DSCN0558.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rockin' Fun with Roger Clyne!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWjCUWWwn4X1CdazFqUum68V1m8ruV9LeXLCwVPctwHC9e23Pkw5t6j6MbFxOkNrQIptJVErjpZSyhu0UWEZNSkm3hsduwaQ0OMoxPR5m5ucIpj7oQfOz4EXHgQBexwdNJagrh7Cg5eDUq27YPaWh6whdr1P8h6WVhjn9SgbmDkvtTX8corTyYhVDOGA/s2816/DSCN0645%20(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2112" data-original-width="2816" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWjCUWWwn4X1CdazFqUum68V1m8ruV9LeXLCwVPctwHC9e23Pkw5t6j6MbFxOkNrQIptJVErjpZSyhu0UWEZNSkm3hsduwaQ0OMoxPR5m5ucIpj7oQfOz4EXHgQBexwdNJagrh7Cg5eDUq27YPaWh6whdr1P8h6WVhjn9SgbmDkvtTX8corTyYhVDOGA/w400-h300/DSCN0645%20(1).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">California Fun!</span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQ0YUbvkTz6AY3kbzznWG1m2W8agSvhS1q_iZhmHDRRJJpOi3VgymRTxMh9U7fButU9s8gpC8tAaqtYyKMvyKKetFpM5I7fnY-qcA61Za591daBbVGTYv4tSF-F3h5ZvUoO1sWPxX1ZAwuhaaVs-SU4eNQURKoIXor1f9n_j5J0fg7Nsit7d4WIOIKyI/s4096/IMG_20190723_160121629_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4096" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQ0YUbvkTz6AY3kbzznWG1m2W8agSvhS1q_iZhmHDRRJJpOi3VgymRTxMh9U7fButU9s8gpC8tAaqtYyKMvyKKetFpM5I7fnY-qcA61Za591daBbVGTYv4tSF-F3h5ZvUoO1sWPxX1ZAwuhaaVs-SU4eNQURKoIXor1f9n_j5J0fg7Nsit7d4WIOIKyI/s320/IMG_20190723_160121629_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Carolina Panthers Fun!</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9lWbmbqJrktjUCJuqQkn-2B0FEfKbgAKVv-3Zy8JXiEhxEJSWiXr377U-leT0tpRJ82-dJqDkdLHE0Mtxpwn2vRbcRCMPV-8F008wYD-ZcvhcK8M0p15K5PGr2NoZ6fINI-X8gg63UOvKuvOnwCV1Lh1uT4aX8GBUq-DyXBEv3Ym43rem4CaowBueco/s3264/20141005_122842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9lWbmbqJrktjUCJuqQkn-2B0FEfKbgAKVv-3Zy8JXiEhxEJSWiXr377U-leT0tpRJ82-dJqDkdLHE0Mtxpwn2vRbcRCMPV-8F008wYD-ZcvhcK8M0p15K5PGr2NoZ6fINI-X8gg63UOvKuvOnwCV1Lh1uT4aX8GBUq-DyXBEv3Ym43rem4CaowBueco/s320/20141005_122842.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">New Orleans Fun!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4nFXqI1kBDXchNKXTx9J2M1yE8_pB4kXGZcijrTy-ANrHZR7KRN65-2USfTittCiLocUnMZHd5fYfYgDnzq7vucEZlOkhKar7adjHxOwkFS1V-_m-SMfG4kedke4NAvZg9CAjgqdmEXb-7dc9FoqUCtQMbWpOKUdljJNduvyljCNgYSrP8d5Vr-pPAM/s4032/IMG_1987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4nFXqI1kBDXchNKXTx9J2M1yE8_pB4kXGZcijrTy-ANrHZR7KRN65-2USfTittCiLocUnMZHd5fYfYgDnzq7vucEZlOkhKar7adjHxOwkFS1V-_m-SMfG4kedke4NAvZg9CAjgqdmEXb-7dc9FoqUCtQMbWpOKUdljJNduvyljCNgYSrP8d5Vr-pPAM/s320/IMG_1987.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Leon's Frozen Custard Fun!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQ_Ej14uxCY0UUtjkEkhXeo-uRAG6OSaIwJIm5XpGoJgJHSX0q_-Wr3882mtOfgYNkCdSGwtlNJDrWABBA9NRO0-U6NCRhDKEfvck2AQQ_c8h4rtJKja5VrkQqAFGyRntUSgUgrqz93PVRCaC8ZJ3kEtCQNoV0tGdM4pHLxxU2PXrMBz5xhqfaUVe7eA/s3697/FullSizeRender%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3697" data-original-width="2773" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQ_Ej14uxCY0UUtjkEkhXeo-uRAG6OSaIwJIm5XpGoJgJHSX0q_-Wr3882mtOfgYNkCdSGwtlNJDrWABBA9NRO0-U6NCRhDKEfvck2AQQ_c8h4rtJKja5VrkQqAFGyRntUSgUgrqz93PVRCaC8ZJ3kEtCQNoV0tGdM4pHLxxU2PXrMBz5xhqfaUVe7eA/s320/FullSizeRender%20(2).jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">We've been a couple of lucky people to have had the 40 years we've had together ... and believe me, I know I'm the luckiest of the lucky!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Wishing tons of future fun to our family and friends. And, yes, another 40 years of it to us! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">^</span></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-40093548490777944472023-03-15T23:07:00.008-04:002023-03-15T23:11:11.895-04:00Bet This Bracket & Get Filthy Rich! (Or something like that)<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> ^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Well, here's my bracket. I told y'all which team I was picking, so at least those 6 lines shouldn't be a surprise!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7eC7fHoEQ7DnQtAZ-jiq4VilCmaj18Hsibw7bRAxxYRZoqjHE7uRMqxiQtDrz5wJdxSqxb9XVMlpPY4mmw3csHLUF_PicHzlwKUVsXhM1X7fxh7YNNDUb3Ys3FOLE_95PjEYt0vKAITc_PMr_0wMfXcogngcv_S7oIiY_hBXrf0mPCSIeapRhIT6/s3436/mike%202023%20NCAAT%20bracket.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2480" data-original-width="3436" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7eC7fHoEQ7DnQtAZ-jiq4VilCmaj18Hsibw7bRAxxYRZoqjHE7uRMqxiQtDrz5wJdxSqxb9XVMlpPY4mmw3csHLUF_PicHzlwKUVsXhM1X7fxh7YNNDUb3Ys3FOLE_95PjEYt0vKAITc_PMr_0wMfXcogngcv_S7oIiY_hBXrf0mPCSIeapRhIT6/w400-h289/mike%202023%20NCAAT%20bracket.png" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Enjoy the tournament, everybody!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">^</span></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-10461429832694534322023-03-12T14:33:00.001-04:002023-03-12T14:33:07.225-04:00We Are Marquette ... And We're Not Done Yet! (Also - wrapping up my first season coaching the Socrates Owls)<p> <span style="font-size: large;">^</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">What a time to be a Marquette alum and basketball fan!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My Golden Warrior Eagles -- picked to finish in 9th place by Big East coaches in the preseason poll -- instead rolled to the first outright Big East title since we joined the conference in 2005. We were 17-3, two full games clear of the field.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHHvCwElvFtDSxR9mPBqhmpjnljdkt6UUFBAX0JJFyGC1DE4k9fW_HmFGwOyiTlj7Tm1ra6yjm9ybavozwvezOVcQM_0TrxkbC_oEHX5qlaeMZANVy2YsAbW1sJikEkGrHFSeg6Sw-IXHx4mb2k3bZjE25bCTeQivP8IUsSZtmgaHppnPNhYYtRYo/s775/Big%20East%20Champs!.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="621" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHHvCwElvFtDSxR9mPBqhmpjnljdkt6UUFBAX0JJFyGC1DE4k9fW_HmFGwOyiTlj7Tm1ra6yjm9ybavozwvezOVcQM_0TrxkbC_oEHX5qlaeMZANVy2YsAbW1sJikEkGrHFSeg6Sw-IXHx4mb2k3bZjE25bCTeQivP8IUsSZtmgaHppnPNhYYtRYo/w320-h400/Big%20East%20Champs!.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And then, as if to prove to remaining doubters that we're for real, my guys went to Madison Square Garden and swept 3 games to win our first Big East Tournament title.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0sTJ2BAz3MvDYZnF552gcslmvc9_FXxyVTMXp4JwbXRuR9XGRTV8JCrCfME_0d5pqyA16PpkIzBOkqjqi9vzw8lZQO6ldBFcYJLS_J0EB0epWLHejMFMPFUgPand-OEQFaMClpVwNNkr7Yzepovzj5nCiC0LSlpiWhx8SnHtuIQXEjzzRjvnXnnQ/s1440/MU%20big%20east%20champs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1440" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS0sTJ2BAz3MvDYZnF552gcslmvc9_FXxyVTMXp4JwbXRuR9XGRTV8JCrCfME_0d5pqyA16PpkIzBOkqjqi9vzw8lZQO6ldBFcYJLS_J0EB0epWLHejMFMPFUgPand-OEQFaMClpVwNNkr7Yzepovzj5nCiC0LSlpiWhx8SnHtuIQXEjzzRjvnXnnQ/w400-h266/MU%20big%20east%20champs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As if the on-court success wasn't enough, what's been great about this season's team is the way we've won.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Marquette plays an entertaining, ever-moving, high-octane offense, fueled by point guard <b>Tyler Kolek </b>-- the Big East Player of the Year and the conference tournament Most Outstanding Player -- and <b>Oso Ighodaro</b>, our slick passing "point center."</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vA4Rwmn-dAO-Bq0y7qHJvqVSK71Pda5S71UkLmG0rTA_9RaJJTVLa041gM__iPPGcVqWRC1Y6AS8ZsA9aDvYqnPGsRhKhY2SZcHAGUkggyBdQinK7vHjgn0w-z3PvhvrZ7bq42TMesEwt_m4WyOf8kXXXfVEhWmhkpJCpcEOjXABIj3Qi0WZCBgW/s788/kolek%20oso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="788" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vA4Rwmn-dAO-Bq0y7qHJvqVSK71Pda5S71UkLmG0rTA_9RaJJTVLa041gM__iPPGcVqWRC1Y6AS8ZsA9aDvYqnPGsRhKhY2SZcHAGUkggyBdQinK7vHjgn0w-z3PvhvrZ7bq42TMesEwt_m4WyOf8kXXXfVEhWmhkpJCpcEOjXABIj3Qi0WZCBgW/w400-h225/kolek%20oso.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Throw in <b>Kam Jones</b>' 3-point shooting, <b>O-Max Prosper's</b> frenetic energy, <b>Stevie Mitchell's</b> incredible defense and 6th man <b>David Joplin's</b> instant offense, and you have an exciting, winning formula.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">One of the great things about the team is that we can overwhelm opponents with our offense (as Marquette did to Xavier in the Big East championship game), but our defense is good enough that we can grind out close victories against tough teams (as we did against UConn in the semifinals).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It has taken <b>Shaka Smart</b> only two years to create a culture of passion, accountability, leadership and excellence. He's been the most welcome addition to the Marquette basketball scene in decades.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnUfM6cDTf3Hiz_Wvx7yZKlcJm7h7YxdMKavi3EGWVRXBYp3h3ANyp_seMSHnTpkuA_-J7dL-oSlTRs2Z_5m1UXWgGjKm2mPlA7X1BKcrEpv0yBypCJV7wM9VCFoCd0Y5NpIa1AvNyNkGG_eh_G9gs-5GeWSBeMWm96U9u9lqdMYEvKB_pzHhxZX-/s1501/celebrating%20Shaka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1501" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnUfM6cDTf3Hiz_Wvx7yZKlcJm7h7YxdMKavi3EGWVRXBYp3h3ANyp_seMSHnTpkuA_-J7dL-oSlTRs2Z_5m1UXWgGjKm2mPlA7X1BKcrEpv0yBypCJV7wM9VCFoCd0Y5NpIa1AvNyNkGG_eh_G9gs-5GeWSBeMWm96U9u9lqdMYEvKB_pzHhxZX-/w400-h301/celebrating%20Shaka.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I have mostly been appreciating Marquette from afar, watching every game on TV, participating in online fan chat-rooms and getting in text chains with fellow alums -- not to mention with my kids, <b>Ben and Katie</b>, who grew up knowing they had better root for MU.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But thankfully, near the end of the season, I finally made it to a couple of games. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Robbie, Ben and I were joined in Milwaukee by Marquette buddies John, Tom and Jim for our home victory over DePaul on Feb. 25.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTUzokF8YCxlJYF44LWMTMLpsPa8VSvEmw9BALIZD5ksobtDNKOgQ1i2PdUcAsKbEbhr0ntuju0DBOQshObhLukwjcH-3LpMvhHgB3z_KFMay5bq9ThXSXrftKps9vd7YUNFSl2bzoWbq_iSUSSVFFiexAASV2F6X67eq1GR-3vCwlQqVub3202oR/s4032/IMG_1942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTUzokF8YCxlJYF44LWMTMLpsPa8VSvEmw9BALIZD5ksobtDNKOgQ1i2PdUcAsKbEbhr0ntuju0DBOQshObhLukwjcH-3LpMvhHgB3z_KFMay5bq9ThXSXrftKps9vd7YUNFSl2bzoWbq_iSUSSVFFiexAASV2F6X67eq1GR-3vCwlQqVub3202oR/w400-h300/IMG_1942.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And then Tom and I made the drive to Indianapolis for the Feb. 28 win at Butler that clinched the Big East regular-season title.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I'm the worst at taking selfies -- obviously -- so I'm glad I also got a pic of the scoreboard with the final score.</span></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KRgccUfT-9mH7OAXm0SlGoI3vLeAn03UEUxtyZDARQqvifWbJhwpdyIYcoHYyus8roKf2-xD19Htk0b2U5dUXL89q8wTNutc1I0F-dNl-DMbP8M3Qz2x6ZwO85cqCVJXr8yFl4y_yvfwv0eg0jChLJlxWhGNZ3HqZg0yrL-LgpHSi-85Ln9l4FR-/s3088/IMG_1955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KRgccUfT-9mH7OAXm0SlGoI3vLeAn03UEUxtyZDARQqvifWbJhwpdyIYcoHYyus8roKf2-xD19Htk0b2U5dUXL89q8wTNutc1I0F-dNl-DMbP8M3Qz2x6ZwO85cqCVJXr8yFl4y_yvfwv0eg0jChLJlxWhGNZ3HqZg0yrL-LgpHSi-85Ln9l4FR-/w400-h300/IMG_1955.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIpLOoVSa2B_-x2d7QLyvy7Ffou5aEnHn4KEshW-c2DNLj7JY_g1WG0W-JYQZB3F7uJiVxKG-U2_Wp2-ruql8Qt2CysG5nePYtIbWbxt56aBtnxoQW0YVylMWW1GDSLUiL4wLFufT-0vipAUiIkVbwifuU_ndTAAK3OldFecv5xPklfhE6cP0cZh2/s4032/IMG_1956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIpLOoVSa2B_-x2d7QLyvy7Ffou5aEnHn4KEshW-c2DNLj7JY_g1WG0W-JYQZB3F7uJiVxKG-U2_Wp2-ruql8Qt2CysG5nePYtIbWbxt56aBtnxoQW0YVylMWW1GDSLUiL4wLFufT-0vipAUiIkVbwifuU_ndTAAK3OldFecv5xPklfhE6cP0cZh2/w300-h400/IMG_1956.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's all been so incredibly fun, and I'm enjoying the interactions with fellow Marquette fans who are re-energized by Shaka & The Gang.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And, as Shaka said after MU crushed Xavier: </span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>"And we're not done yet!"</b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Spoiler Alert: My NCAA Tournament bracket will feature Marquette on the "champions" line ... and it's not just a fan crossing his fingers and wishing for the impossible. It really can happen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As my grandson Jack says: <i>"We Are Marquette!"</i></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxEx51yx2qqB4aM7FnFzbA6XTjccIO6zH4VWx2qyh5sO08RdpwibEFXPYYUTspe6xQ0FWdk4rHzEHpw32v_aw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">+++</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, in other hoops news ...</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A few weeks ago, I wrapped up my first season as coach of the middle school girls basketball team at Socrates Academy.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XJhur8g6k5JzhikAnym60MGGq19frcFOp1tK7lMc7F03XRShHJlRtQykuchmtVTu-D-LrgP9krUGY5D0sooXcGNZI0dqzPpjCDC0KNRnP0pXyXC_aKuH3_eXbNcMLTMk2we4ho3L3Y9JI9XtoFWewiilv6P0YgE0et9_BfoXQd7laeiDpVMWlIfZ/s4032/IMG_3472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XJhur8g6k5JzhikAnym60MGGq19frcFOp1tK7lMc7F03XRShHJlRtQykuchmtVTu-D-LrgP9krUGY5D0sooXcGNZI0dqzPpjCDC0KNRnP0pXyXC_aKuH3_eXbNcMLTMk2we4ho3L3Y9JI9XtoFWewiilv6P0YgE0et9_BfoXQd7laeiDpVMWlIfZ/w400-h300/IMG_3472.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I love the 11 kids I had the honor to coach. Probably the hardest-working group I've ever had, and that's saying something because I've been fortunate to coach several teams that left it all on the court.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Our Owls were 7-7 and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament. It's not the stuff of which legends are made, but considering that the program hadn't won a single game in at least 2 years, it was a pretty nice season.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The girls played with energy and enthusiasm, got along great with each other, wanted to be coached, and improved markedly throughout the season. It truly was a pleasure to have worked with them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Making the experience all the more special was the fact that Katie was my assistant. It not only was wonderful to coach alongside my daughter for personal reasons, but she also was fantastic with the girls and brought great knowledge and experience to the team.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Most of the players are 8th-graders, and when they graduate in a few months they'll be taking 97% of our offense with them. So hopefully we'll have some newcomers who can hoop a little bit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Maybe I can get Shaka Smart to do a little recruiting for me!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">^</span></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-85400625850608575742022-12-26T15:50:00.000-05:002022-12-26T15:50:25.561-05:00Nadel-A-Thon in N.C. ... And a New Gig for Coach Mike<p> <span style="font-size: large;">^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Dec. 21 was the first day of winter, and we got an early blast of frigid weather in North Carolina. But we were fortunate that we had something to warm our hearts -- a first-ever Charlotte visit from our grand-twins Logan and Jack.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here they are with Ruthie, their "cousin" hound.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXWOZq0U-mfvVK5Xs7xVUXnWLDtjWLt_KLIdevn9qY5PHFLNbFiwKtiX5-JsPpvxWiSTd6oyQV2uM9raF1P3dpBDqj2JU9knIfClbXgowoXa98bbq0SrufIpM9bNZix9USywt8C9kNJI6XSLSvw5ZqKc1jhvfEJ8FHuR3_H3pNa94rV6uuDWA6K3G/s2049/IMG_2515.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2049" data-original-width="1537" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPXWOZq0U-mfvVK5Xs7xVUXnWLDtjWLt_KLIdevn9qY5PHFLNbFiwKtiX5-JsPpvxWiSTd6oyQV2uM9raF1P3dpBDqj2JU9knIfClbXgowoXa98bbq0SrufIpM9bNZix9USywt8C9kNJI6XSLSvw5ZqKc1jhvfEJ8FHuR3_H3pNa94rV6uuDWA6K3G/w300-h400/IMG_2515.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;">LoJack (and their parents Sammi and Ben) spent much of their vacay with their Aunt Katie, Uncle Ben and cousins Owen and Piper (and the aforementioned Ruthie), who live just a few minutes away from Grandma and Grandpa.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Here are the four cousins (from left - Owen, Piper, Jack, Logan) at an indoor water park. You know how difficult it is to get four kids ages 3 and under to smile and look at the camera at the same time?!?!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHd_JnhFm2Tdhmk1cNQ4lyR0OSTa85mtPomdbRtABadAdfUKriQBqgYtN0Wj2T2ZTlxagAFKC-4BKsxWbbw39vNOmco_bWbzGeQkkqCBvSzxtr8slCRDo0irY5Wx3tSmeA8XRcy1Vv7zcH_WiNXUgfpCBUn-7Vtjgrhykqhen788q7kGtZq9juzAMd/s2049/IMG_2550%20(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1537" data-original-width="2049" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHd_JnhFm2Tdhmk1cNQ4lyR0OSTa85mtPomdbRtABadAdfUKriQBqgYtN0Wj2T2ZTlxagAFKC-4BKsxWbbw39vNOmco_bWbzGeQkkqCBvSzxtr8slCRDo0irY5Wx3tSmeA8XRcy1Vv7zcH_WiNXUgfpCBUn-7Vtjgrhykqhen788q7kGtZq9juzAMd/w400-h300/IMG_2550%20(1).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">We also had fun at the Carolina Raptor Center, looking at hawks, eagles, owls and other birds of prey. Here are the three boys in a small cabin on the site.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqY9LtIpV2IiIs9S64iSIeaY29NHjVPd9z1D3ilFhUS97RK6oy_LfiI93sLQZrILxevc5AvITOoFZfOPR6_O82wJwTeFVshne2NSQaWUHtbjGjb-Re9uYnUxL1TnEY3dKM7UHVmXtAhhU0ktTfCvlbMR9H7h5zI_sYbHmPDOltlvFIRMXwn36tZXQT/s2049/IMG_2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1537" data-original-width="2049" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqY9LtIpV2IiIs9S64iSIeaY29NHjVPd9z1D3ilFhUS97RK6oy_LfiI93sLQZrILxevc5AvITOoFZfOPR6_O82wJwTeFVshne2NSQaWUHtbjGjb-Re9uYnUxL1TnEY3dKM7UHVmXtAhhU0ktTfCvlbMR9H7h5zI_sYbHmPDOltlvFIRMXwn36tZXQT/w400-h300/IMG_2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">And "Lady in Red" Piper, all warm and happy!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeBA7f-6z41uE-pZZmgnqcK1uh3RZJQdrG9Dq4rg8-HQXgRNeHbvRqOK9TbgGtX-lqdC52-vGxz-qRL6AXP5-NIRpnZDU0Pm1bQQJ8VVWKbgwAC_5kcxxTuFuhH8bsXxP8FJW3YSHZELdRBiLlAX2fhs3bHylsNn-M4QOsGx4QNkNOeMz8Rd4Kg9S/s2049/IMG_1889.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2049" data-original-width="1537" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeBA7f-6z41uE-pZZmgnqcK1uh3RZJQdrG9Dq4rg8-HQXgRNeHbvRqOK9TbgGtX-lqdC52-vGxz-qRL6AXP5-NIRpnZDU0Pm1bQQJ8VVWKbgwAC_5kcxxTuFuhH8bsXxP8FJW3YSHZELdRBiLlAX2fhs3bHylsNn-M4QOsGx4QNkNOeMz8Rd4Kg9S/w300-h400/IMG_1889.HEIC" width="300" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">After going for a "ride" with Grandma and Grandpa ...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5heliBtaHdZ89JXgQoqc0-8hEV-n5ibatnnhMxfnNGjAFRICnZS7M4CbfL3PlBnH-Q60njodj3YgljC-zBcKJbKaS3y9QePG8sruHV1UI7Vw-25au4zGqptxgsmdv4WyTCxRrbeBQjT5kf1cXNBy71SDDwP7Gq_j_uSmHKU1G8KMo0FHLI_dOP_od/s2048/IMG_5948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1592" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5heliBtaHdZ89JXgQoqc0-8hEV-n5ibatnnhMxfnNGjAFRICnZS7M4CbfL3PlBnH-Q60njodj3YgljC-zBcKJbKaS3y9QePG8sruHV1UI7Vw-25au4zGqptxgsmdv4WyTCxRrbeBQjT5kf1cXNBy71SDDwP7Gq_j_uSmHKU1G8KMo0FHLI_dOP_od/w311-h400/IMG_5948.JPG" width="311" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">... artist Logan proudly displayed his renowned work, "Portrait of Grandma." The resemblance is uncanny!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRQ2gZ9j8-usA4lqDmbZCe39IeKa6UcyYMGTxmBzkUj0oon9szAxsB_6BKmQZK0i2ZzD0BVrWs0BkUrrFMrGviMt8BplTjKQV1RwLrPgWfvBDNDBzoM-CfwLJhanhGilSo8aI_VNto_LO66In32os_VLyodKtc6Ok1wxT7KvDlU3dubWM4VD-lvY9/s4032/IMG_1887%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRQ2gZ9j8-usA4lqDmbZCe39IeKa6UcyYMGTxmBzkUj0oon9szAxsB_6BKmQZK0i2ZzD0BVrWs0BkUrrFMrGviMt8BplTjKQV1RwLrPgWfvBDNDBzoM-CfwLJhanhGilSo8aI_VNto_LO66In32os_VLyodKtc6Ok1wxT7KvDlU3dubWM4VD-lvY9/w300-h400/IMG_1887%20(1).jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;">One afternoon, Robbie and I and our offspring even got to sneak away for an hour sans kiddos.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOr9vowf9sCENj7GHMiY4ePmri__k_UNmwkeRaFEoEaIgd0pTlHjA3kbmHFRITt9h9g06lEBtP3YNPZpMglq9Yk7hBgjioWC8AMnil8Ii8D9PvnNI53GhVlMOMCSkIIEIf6SQYoarEch060nQ7K2q5VjVYRuET_HgRs985mTsZHr9gpagxAtUqsbM/s4032/FullSizeRender.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOr9vowf9sCENj7GHMiY4ePmri__k_UNmwkeRaFEoEaIgd0pTlHjA3kbmHFRITt9h9g06lEBtP3YNPZpMglq9Yk7hBgjioWC8AMnil8Ii8D9PvnNI53GhVlMOMCSkIIEIf6SQYoarEch060nQ7K2q5VjVYRuET_HgRs985mTsZHr9gpagxAtUqsbM/w400-h300/FullSizeRender.heic" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;">Katie and her family moved to Charlotte from Seattle in September, and it's been fantastic having them here. "Fantastic" also is a great word to describe the visit from the Chicago Nadels. Come back soon, y'all -- warmer weather next time, we promise!!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>+++</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>+++</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The few birds of prey we saw at the Raptor Center aren't the only Owls in my life these days.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">After a two-year Covid hiatus, I'm coaching middle-school girls basketball again. My latest assignment is at Socrates Academy, a highly regarded public charter school only a few minutes from my house.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Hoo are we? The Owls, the mighty, mighty Owls!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2MZkSUgvKKy_zPcE8cBxv_2q9WjfAq5x1gYdwymzhWp_UsRd5KJKwuzqL-JByJmosrw7ahaTtfmROkBNVOBwAiLc8tw1C42wUlW9iZPCTz5uy0qo5o-IJKAqATKHLYunlPDYE5bmzRAuN1NJViwdm9kcADQ6KebzLPTMjsTmx9SJ1T_tszJR7oYb/s4032/IMG_2624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2MZkSUgvKKy_zPcE8cBxv_2q9WjfAq5x1gYdwymzhWp_UsRd5KJKwuzqL-JByJmosrw7ahaTtfmROkBNVOBwAiLc8tw1C42wUlW9iZPCTz5uy0qo5o-IJKAqATKHLYunlPDYE5bmzRAuN1NJViwdm9kcADQ6KebzLPTMjsTmx9SJ1T_tszJR7oYb/w300-h400/IMG_2624.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">We played 4 games before the holiday break. That we won 3 of them is great, because I'm told that there hadn't been a whole lot of winning 'round these parts. More importantly, though -- and I mean it -- is that these kids work so hard, they are so coachable, and they want to improve so much. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoop4JvHwD4nAxpO7M1I0t4TDQizqx2X8uNwwnKVX4h5PP4U_IZBwDxn7Kwrhr5hIRcfM-W5xtMq6rBsBscLb_uqsM22q6smBYYX5n3Jqu3aWXFgyqqrF1GGJwHo5JqdjeDuwmRpTb7ghyu790Mca4BFt4Db3cMQu5oECvelWTUnLcxcmahJY34RKb/s646/coaching%20socrates.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="559" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoop4JvHwD4nAxpO7M1I0t4TDQizqx2X8uNwwnKVX4h5PP4U_IZBwDxn7Kwrhr5hIRcfM-W5xtMq6rBsBscLb_uqsM22q6smBYYX5n3Jqu3aWXFgyqqrF1GGJwHo5JqdjeDuwmRpTb7ghyu790Mca4BFt4Db3cMQu5oECvelWTUnLcxcmahJY34RKb/w346-h400/coaching%20socrates.JPG" width="346" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;">And they <i>have</i> improved a ton in just the time we've been together so far. They're a real likeable group, too, and they support each other and the coaches so well. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Coach Katie -- yep, Payton Prep's all-time 3-point shooter is my assistant -- and I are very grateful that we get to work with them. And we're excited about what the rest of the season will bring when school resumes in January.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Go Owls!</span></p><p>^</p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-24683021163703746212022-11-23T21:43:00.002-05:002022-11-24T07:33:59.074-05:00It's Turkey Time Again -- Who's Number 1 in 2022?<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> ^</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is the 25th annual edition of my sports Turkeys of the Year ... and as always, there were lots of losers, lunkheads, dopes, druggies, criminals and clowns to choose from. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGYcGqwqevdzUcAKfiuwGL7_o3sSZWJ7Qt-PgUEFKBGSQoWmwdOBUGHgZnH9paGc9bQT8JGKXYa7mI04AJrSlE6UO-Rs3OLhYIxAO3MlsHd5lURL99zQi3ddhMjHq0VZBelLzXhectXKfEUCUwTny3Nw5RzbKXXS2LjMzYmlV4HRS4wPHoT7fznscL/s747/turkey%20of%20the%20year%20image.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="747" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGYcGqwqevdzUcAKfiuwGL7_o3sSZWJ7Qt-PgUEFKBGSQoWmwdOBUGHgZnH9paGc9bQT8JGKXYa7mI04AJrSlE6UO-Rs3OLhYIxAO3MlsHd5lURL99zQi3ddhMjHq0VZBelLzXhectXKfEUCUwTny3Nw5RzbKXXS2LjMzYmlV4HRS4wPHoT7fznscL/w400-h266/turkey%20of%20the%20year%20image.webp" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Before I get to 2022, here are my selections over the years ...</span></span></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2021 -- <b>Aaron Rodgers</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2020 -- <b>Donald F. Trump</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2019 -- <b>Antonio Brown</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2018 -- <b>J.R. Smith</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2017 -- <b>Kyle Shanahan</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2016 -- <b>Pat McCrory</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2015 -- <b>Derrick Rose</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2014 -- <b>Roger Goodell and Ray Rice</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2013 -- <b>Alex Rodriguez</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2012 -- <b>U.S. Ryder Cup Team</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2011 -- <b>Joe Paterno</b> (and his Penn State enablers)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2010 -- <b>Mark McGwire</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2009 -- <b>Milton Bradley</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2008 -- <b>Choking Cubbies</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2007 -- <b>Charlie Weis</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2006 -- <b>Aramis Ramirez</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2005 -- <b>Andy MacPhail, Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2004 -- <b>Sammy Sosa</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2003 -- <b>Sammy Sosa</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2002 -- <b>Dick Jauron</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2001 -- <b>David Wells and Frank Thomas</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2000 -- <b>Bobby Knight</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1999 -- <b>Jerry Krause</b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1998 -- <b>Mike McCaskey</b></span></li></ul><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Among others, here were the candidates I considered for 2022's Top Gobbler (in alphabetical order):</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Robbie Anderson ... Archie Bradley ... Tom Brady ... Antonio Brown ... Rodolfo Castro ... Bryson DeChambeau ... Novak Djokovic ... Kevin Durant ... Nathaniel Hackett ... Kyrie Irving ... Michael Jordan ... Kliff Kingsbury ... Zack Littell ... Brad Marchand ... Baker Mayfield ... Phil Mickelson ... D.J. Moore ... Thomas Morstead ... Kyler Murray ... Greg Norman ... Aaron Rodgers ... Grant Sands ... Robert Sarver ... Brandon Staley ... Russell Wilson.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Which brings us to my Final Four:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Miles Bridges</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Talk about a guy who had the world in the palm of his hand. The Charlotte Hornets forward rejected a nice contract last year, making a huge bet on himself. And he won the bet, having a career year. He was headed for a massive, 9-figure deal. But then Bridges allegedly beat the hell out of the mother of his children -- right in front of the children! -- and now he is toxic.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Matt Rhule</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The first NFL coach fired this season, Rhule lasted only 5 games into his third year with the Carolina Panthers. He whiffed on 5 QBs -- which is 5 too many whiffs at football's most important position -- and he made plenty of other boneheaded decisions, too. And yes, I'm miffed that I'm about to lose my bet on the Panthers having a winning record this season; that's Rhule's fault, too!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Herschel Walker</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's not difficult to find hypocrisy in politics, but it's not easy to find the kind of All-World, Hall-of-Fame level hypocrisy that the U.S. Senate candidate from Georgia has shown regarding the abortion issue. Whenever Walker speaks, he sounds like he was hit in the helmet a few too many times -- or a few thousand too many times. He's a pathological liar, as well ... but at least he told the truth when he said: <i>"I'm not that smart."</i></span></p><p style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And now ... The 2022 Turkey of the Year ...</span></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">TONY LA RUSSA</span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Still feeling guilty decades later about having fired La Russa as manager at the insistence of the inept Hawk Harrelson in 1986, Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf brought La Russa back for the 2021 season. Tony was 76 years old and hadn't been in an MLB dugout for a decade.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Although the Sox were routed by the Astros in their first playoff series, La Russa's return was a success in Year 1. And his young, talented team entered the 2022 season as a trendy World Series pick.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It was pretty much a disaster from beginning to end, however. La Russa made numerous questionable decisions -- including twice calling for intentional walks with 1-2 counts on batters (one of which backfired spectacularly). La Russa has always been one who has felt he was smarter than everybody else, and even after those moves failed, he doubled-down on his genius.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">He also dozed off in the dugout, and his team's fundamentals were horrid all season. The Sox simply looked unprepared and, well, un-managed.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgIXbPenulXX7kUgeiXy_pTRYF1tqPf0zxZz_-nK_xblHQNHC_-rEo-OmsYUv6XTf9-KDPo5WJxKTyUu-O-_TM-5rkH7CRFjLQO_6vT53q66n4C94b_LSRnfGnou5hDIsm1akf5XnZ1HTXkS-i3nLL3RYBJ9n12RvR0zOpircR1gNpi4qLtcghIXs/s722/larussa%20sleeps.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="722" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgIXbPenulXX7kUgeiXy_pTRYF1tqPf0zxZz_-nK_xblHQNHC_-rEo-OmsYUv6XTf9-KDPo5WJxKTyUu-O-_TM-5rkH7CRFjLQO_6vT53q66n4C94b_LSRnfGnou5hDIsm1akf5XnZ1HTXkS-i3nLL3RYBJ9n12RvR0zOpircR1gNpi4qLtcghIXs/w400-h271/larussa%20sleeps.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The White Sox finished 81-81, with most observers calling them the biggest disappointment in the major leagues.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">La Russa ended up leaving the team with a month to go to address a medical situation, an inglorious end to an otherwise outstanding managerial career.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I wish him good health and happiness, and I hope he enjoys Thanksgiving more than he enjoyed his turkey of a final season as a big-league skipper.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">^</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-70134876458067562492022-11-06T10:17:00.001-05:002022-11-06T10:17:40.545-05:00Congrats to Dusty Baker -- World Series Champion<p><span style="font-size: large;">^</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I didn't really have a dog in the World Series fight, but I admit I'm really happy that Dusty Baker finally has won that elusive championship.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It was cool to see not only the unbridled joy of a guy who is 73 going on 23 -- <i>"What's next? Party!"</i> -- but also to witness the obvious love his Astros players and the fans have for him.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLamSMj9BxNq2okeqHOZjeXjryI57ARax2I3-CeRWX6r6TqJAzuEGMhbPAUNt9FCt97nkvicRq0C6vFs9TZMiq_rv1h8ACyr0zM3LlldgsZQkdzhldD1znPzhbyX13CHPV39qhfC67a3szwv1AW1fqDjUJrxNhTGBMbBaBqcnU2z9vt8QmIaeKU5uK/s1536/dusty%20wins.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1091" data-original-width="1536" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLamSMj9BxNq2okeqHOZjeXjryI57ARax2I3-CeRWX6r6TqJAzuEGMhbPAUNt9FCt97nkvicRq0C6vFs9TZMiq_rv1h8ACyr0zM3LlldgsZQkdzhldD1znPzhbyX13CHPV39qhfC67a3szwv1AW1fqDjUJrxNhTGBMbBaBqcnU2z9vt8QmIaeKU5uK/w400-h284/dusty%20wins.webp" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">What a life Johnnie B. Baker has led. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">He was born in 1949. He grew up during a difficult (and sometimes even deadly) time to be an outspoken young Black man. He left California in 1967 for Atlanta, which was one of the epicenters of segregation and the Civil Rights movement. Hank Aaron took him under his wing, and Dusty got to see the dignity with which Hank handled the incredible abuse he received. All of those things Dusty witnessed as a child and young man helped shape what he would become.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oIfVO6I7lgpQ1kJ_jSKYaz3euFlhrDlqnT3QxdTq8xMjEr3JGy8PKIRzwFlTTzLxd3uvRQ_NOgCZbofSDTvW3ApZKeTcnvbgNSXw25MfxcZFYuM0tNA0DqJm4IClcVqlk57WnklzsHEPfdIsBa8JZMG5Vxd2ucrRR8aTdiV6dQSRJkn65OllAXy8/s1146/hank%20and%20dusty.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="1146" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oIfVO6I7lgpQ1kJ_jSKYaz3euFlhrDlqnT3QxdTq8xMjEr3JGy8PKIRzwFlTTzLxd3uvRQ_NOgCZbofSDTvW3ApZKeTcnvbgNSXw25MfxcZFYuM0tNA0DqJm4IClcVqlk57WnklzsHEPfdIsBa8JZMG5Vxd2ucrRR8aTdiV6dQSRJkn65OllAXy8/w400-h253/hank%20and%20dusty.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Baker was a hell of a ballplayer, a multiple All-Star who twice finished in the top 10 in MVP voting and who was a big contributor to the 1981 champion Dodgers. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As a manager, he helped turn the Giants, Cubs, Reds and Nationals from mediocrities (or worse) into legitimate contenders ... only to fail to win it all, sometimes in spectacular fashion. (To this day, the top of the 8th inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS remains the most incredible half-hour of sports I've seen, and yes, Dusty contributed to the Cubbie collapse.)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kZEVgS5B1b0Da4BofW5fAqSMMjwARPBbZ4NCQ7PqF0DQBi93EU-Zks6IufMDaQX_Guo56--5buDUJGM-kIyzCwDNX5yCRPFx9AwpeHL-Glr1eQjGZvcIjp-IQ0HC7RU0bE1dt0s4B5JW3qzsv3srWgwdYRGJahWJq2pGxoJPsuNoAvMLHfSsQCWM/s736/dusty%20with%20cubs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="736" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kZEVgS5B1b0Da4BofW5fAqSMMjwARPBbZ4NCQ7PqF0DQBi93EU-Zks6IufMDaQX_Guo56--5buDUJGM-kIyzCwDNX5yCRPFx9AwpeHL-Glr1eQjGZvcIjp-IQ0HC7RU0bE1dt0s4B5JW3qzsv3srWgwdYRGJahWJq2pGxoJPsuNoAvMLHfSsQCWM/w400-h255/dusty%20with%20cubs.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And what an amazing job he did in Houston, given that organization's situation before he got there. He's a baseball lifer who had done everything in the game except win a World Series as a manager, and now he can check that off his list.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Asked about that last night, he told ESPN: "God-dang it! Oh, it's a wonderful thing! I just knew it was gonna happen sooner or later ... and I said if I win one, I wanna win two, so we might as well go for two!"</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8ccxbL_LCqc" width="320" youtube-src-id="8ccxbL_LCqc"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">He might be the best manager or coach I've ever seen at convincing high-paid professional athletes to work toward common goals and to believe in themselves during times of adversity. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sometimes, he used an "us against the world, and screw everybody else" vibe to do so, and that pissed off some baseball fans. He also has been very outspoken about race relations, which of course ticks off a lot of people who believe that athletes (especially Black athletes) should just "shut up and dribble."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I was part of hundreds of conversations with Dusty Baker over the years, especially during his 4-year tenure as Cubs manager.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Most of those conversations were in group settings, but I also was fortunate to have several 1-on-1 interviews with him -- most on the record, but some just two guys talking. He pretty quickly became a favorite of mine, and I came away from many of those (especially our off-the-record chats) feeling as if I had been a student in an upper-level U.S. history course.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">So congrats to Dusty Baker -- baseball lifer, inspirational leader, and just one cool dude.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">^</span></div>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-62427255152542125382022-08-13T11:04:00.000-04:002022-08-13T11:04:23.812-04:00The Deposed Mad King's 7 Stages of Denial<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">I don’t have any government documents
at Mar-a-Lago.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">The FBI ransacked Mar-a-Lago – it’s
another witch hunt.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">The FBI planted evidence.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">There weren’t any top-secret documents.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">All those documents marked top-secret?
I actually already declassified them.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">Barack Hussein Obama had 30 million
documents at his house.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">I’m being persecuted. Send money,
everybody!</span></li></ol><p></p><p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-57526423417551545562022-02-13T15:40:00.001-05:002022-02-13T15:40:06.867-05:00Super Upset?<p><span style="font-size: large;"> ^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Short and quick about Super Bowl Whatever Number This Is ...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I really love watching Joe Burrow play. Lots of chutzpah and a ton of talent. And that Cinci kicker is a cool, cocky kid too. I'd expect him to hit anywhere from 55 & in with the game on the line if he gets the chance. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I like Matthew Stafford as well (and I'm bummed the Panthers didn't get him). I'd have questioned his ability to pull out a close game, but he responded big-time against the Niners. I do think that with all the talk about LA's defensive line, Cinci's is getting overlooked some. They can get after Stafford and put him on his butt.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Last year, I felt the Bucs would torment Mahomes, who was playing behind a porous offensive line. And the Bengals have an even worse O-line ... and the Rams have a great D-line. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">And yet, I just see Burrow finding a way this time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bengals 23, Rams 20</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">^</span></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-67461995319233869792021-11-23T20:18:00.005-05:002021-11-23T20:21:28.565-05:00Gobble! Gobble! Time for the 2021 Turkey of the Year<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">^</span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: medium;">After 2020 finally, mercifully ended, did you think 2021 would be a breeze? Welp ... sorry about that. This year has kinda sucked, too. But at least we always have sports to distract us from all of life's troubles, right?</span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: medium;">Think again! The 2021 sports landscape has featured lots of great moments, to be sure, but it also has given us a close-up look at all kinds of losers, scoundrels, incompetents, liars, conspiracy theorists and dolts.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Then again, I've been choosing the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Turkey of the Year</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> since 1998, and there's rarely been a shortage of these less-than-desirables. Here's a look </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial;">back at my selections throughout the years ...</span></span></p><ul><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2020 -- <b>Donald F. Trump</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2019 -- <b>Antonio Brown</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2018 -- <b>J.R. Smith</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2017 -- <b>Kyle Shanahan</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2016 -- <b>Pat McCrory</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2015 -- <b>Derrick Rose</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2014 -- <b>Roger Goodell and Ray Rice</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2013 -- <b>Alex Rodriguez</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2012 -- <b>U.S. Ryder Cup Team</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2011 -- <b>Joe Paterno</b> (and his Penn State enablers)</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2010 -- <b>Mark McGwire</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2009 -- <b>Milton Bradley</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2008 -- <b>Choking Cubbies</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2007 -- <b>Charlie Weis</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2006 -- <b>Aramis Ramirez</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2005 -- <b>Andy MacPhail, Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2004 -- <b>Sammy Sosa</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2003 -- <b>Sammy Sosa</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2002 -- <b>Dick Jauron</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2001 -- <b>David Wells and Frank Thomas</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2000 -- <b>Bobby Knight</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1999 -- <b>Jerry Krause</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1998 -- <b>Mike McCaskey</b></span></span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">You might have noticed that up until 2010, each of those turkeys did his gobblin' in Chicago and/or the Midwest because that's where I was based. The "award" actually got its start under my Copley Newspapers predecessor and friend, the late</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Gene Seymour</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">. Since moving to North Carolina, I've expanded my Turkey-choosing horizons. Still, as always, I dedicate this to Gene's memory.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">+++</span></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Without further ado, here's the 2021 Turkey of the Year countdown ...</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>13. WILL CRAIG.</b> Will Who? Exactly! Back in May, as the first baseman of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Craig made arguably the worst play by an infielder in the history of professional baseball. Yep .. THE ... WORST ... EVER. His very apt quote afterward: <i>"I kinda lost my mind."</i> </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bBJ4PW-qfKc" width="320" youtube-src-id="bBJ4PW-qfKc"></iframe></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>12. URBAN MEYER.</b><span> If a new NFL coach wants to make a good first impression on his players, most of whom are Black, one way NOT to do it is by hiring a racist as strength coach. But that's exactly what Meyer did after becoming the Jaguars' head coach. When confronted, he at first got defensive. But he soon realized he had to fire the guy he just hired. Oh ... and his Jaguars suck, too.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>11. NCAA HONCHOS. </b>They had years to get in front of the movement to let athletes be compensated for the use of their names, images and likenesses (aka NIL), but instead the suits tried to fight it. Numerous states passed their own rules, and by the time the NCAA caved in, there was no mechanism in place to make things reasonably equitable. As usual, if it involves NCAA decision-makers, it's a mess. But I'm still glad college athletes have the same rights that their fellow college students do.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>10. CURT SCHILLING.</b><span> He used to be a great pitcher, so great that he very well might be inducted into the Hall of Fame. But he's also a hate-filled, homophobic, Islamophobic, conspiracy-theory-spewing, far-right-wingnut. (One of his bigoted tweets, comparing Muslims to Nazis, follows this paragraph.) He actually demanded to be taken off the ballot in this, his final year of eligibility for the Hall ... but the Hall correctly said "nope, you're staying on the ballot" ... and he has a good chance of getting in after falling only 16 votes short last time. Disclosure: I have voted for him in the past, and I'd vote for him again if I still had a ballot. It's not as if he'd be the only dirtbag in the Hall.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgReSIe434OtQH_5FPWu671KUyE1yxEhB4c2yA_MfGUlkax7RV66IAKO-r6M0n-FXeM2rYCbjdqnhLp617l758fYAdRTzHnbKbWPdm1s6w_OwHiYjJRz0OTTmn7KjS_hyphenhyphenXT9JwjqEoHf_I/s509/schilling+islam.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="509" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgReSIe434OtQH_5FPWu671KUyE1yxEhB4c2yA_MfGUlkax7RV66IAKO-r6M0n-FXeM2rYCbjdqnhLp617l758fYAdRTzHnbKbWPdm1s6w_OwHiYjJRz0OTTmn7KjS_hyphenhyphenXT9JwjqEoHf_I/w400-h316/schilling+islam.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>9. MATT NAGY.</b><b> </b><span>This just in: There are reports that the Bears will fire their inept coach after the team's Thanksgiving game against Detroit. Of course, there's little doubt that Nagy </span><i>should</i><span> be fired, as he has mishandled the team for most of his time in Chicago. Then again, if GM Ryan Pace isn't canned, too, will it really matter?</span></span><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>8. KLETE KELLER.</b><span> The U.S. Olympic swimmer pleaded guilty on Oct. 13 to felony obstruction for taking part in the Jan. 6 coup attempt at the Capitol. His involvement in the insurrection wasn't exactly stealthy -- he wore his Olympic jacket while recording himself screaming expletives about Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. So he's not only a seditionist and a convicted felon, he's also a dope. <i>U.S.A! Hang Mike Pence! U.S.A.! Hang Mike Pence!</i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>7. ROBBY ANDERSON. </b><span>After signing a big-money contract extension during the offseason, the Panthers wide receiver has gone on to lead the NFL in dropped passes. As if that's not enough for Turkey-dom, he also has lashed out on two separate occasions at teammates and coaches. Much easier to get angry at others than to hold himself accountable, I guess.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRo-o8dbSavnJvCXYE3VO3vmkfd6lnnMR1x9E5PdUR6mrObh0BYhWHlg4XoM5qx-IOEX5i_mp-cxBZED26PJzwPTWPcQlnRdk_z-LWWeq8HzpTUW5qBt_Iq4kad7xcAYW67DVArPCcc8/s642/anderson+drops.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="576" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRo-o8dbSavnJvCXYE3VO3vmkfd6lnnMR1x9E5PdUR6mrObh0BYhWHlg4XoM5qx-IOEX5i_mp-cxBZED26PJzwPTWPcQlnRdk_z-LWWeq8HzpTUW5qBt_Iq4kad7xcAYW67DVArPCcc8/w359-h400/anderson+drops.JPG" width="359" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><p style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">6. MEL TUCKER.</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;"> The Michigan State football coach had a nice win against Michigan. So nice that MSU boosters apparently want to make him the second-highest-paid coach in college football history -- 10 years, $95 million -- despite his 16-14 career record. Unfortunately, word of the big contract leaked just before the Spartans' game against Ohio State ... and then the Spartans were down 49-0 faster than you could say, "Waste of effen money." I wonder how much of that contract Ohio State boosters are willing to pay to keep Tucker coaching in the Big Ten.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>5. TREVOR BAUER.</b><span> The Dodgers spent more than $100 million to sign a pitcher they thought would help them win another World Series. But only a few months into the quirky right-hander's stay in L.A., he was accused of sexual assault ... and he didn't pitch in a game after June 28. I don't really have anything clever to say here because sexual assault isn't funny. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>4. BEN SIMMONS.</b><span> The 76ers' $170 million point guard has become a total head case. He has talent and size ... but he hasn't improved as a shooter in the 6 years he's been a pro. And he's such a disaster at the free-throw line that he doesn't even want to create contact. The ultimate bizarro scenario came in Game 7 of the Sixers' playoff loss to Atlanta on June 20, when Simmons passed up an open dunk to give the ball to a well-defended teammate. (See video below.) He wants to be traded and the Sixers would love to deal him, but who wants to give up multiple draft picks and tens of millions of dollars for a guard who won't -- and can't -- shoot?</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-EHA4UhYuQY" width="320" youtube-src-id="-EHA4UhYuQY"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>3. KYRIE IRVING, AMARI COOPER, ANTONIO BROWN and VARIOUS OTHER ANTI-VAXXERS.</b> Each has some different story, some different excuse, some different scam. But all of them have hurt or are hurting their teammates, coaches, communities and fans. Is there any doubt why we can't get past COVID-19 when selfish and/or misinformed turkeys won't do their part?</span><p></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><p><b>2. NICK ROLOVICH.</b> Washington State fired its head coach after he refused to get vaccinated -- which is required of all state employees. (He also happened to be the state's highest-paid employee.) Rolovich is fighting his termination in court, saying he should have been granted a religious exemption. One problem with that defense: He's Catholic; there's nothing in the Catholic faith that prevents people from getting vaccinated; and Pope Francis himself is advocating for the vaccine. So Rolovich is a liar as well as a science-denier ... and his career record (33-33) indicates he's not much of a coach, either.</p></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">And now ... The 2021 Turkey of the Year ...</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>AARON RODGERS</b></span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6q-xYB6xuecKy6sZh2dH8N0FVJ7y5VTZBllyaVNTDNRFvKy67KwIVk0OlqdNRdB-VE3400CkD2Cf_NcMYSfFChWS2-YSr45gj5hSGm5hmE9ISn6WkX7jM5Ax2elczs2w2E36lGk1HMc/s1200/NFL-reporter-knew-Aaron-Rodgers-wasn_t-vaccinated-months-ago.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="1200" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6q-xYB6xuecKy6sZh2dH8N0FVJ7y5VTZBllyaVNTDNRFvKy67KwIVk0OlqdNRdB-VE3400CkD2Cf_NcMYSfFChWS2-YSr45gj5hSGm5hmE9ISn6WkX7jM5Ax2elczs2w2E36lGk1HMc/w400-h224/NFL-reporter-knew-Aaron-Rodgers-wasn_t-vaccinated-months-ago.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">While we're on a roll talking about all these me-first, ignorant, anti-vaxx dopes, let's bestow the highest "honor" on the the most famous (infamous?) of them all.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><p>Back in training camp, the Green Bay QB -- and 2020 NFL MVP -- assured everybody that he was "immunized." </p><p>But it was all a lie ... which we learned when Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 and had to miss a game, which the Packers lost. </p><p>Through it all, he doubled-down and tripled-down; he claimed that being "immunized" (with what, he hasn't said) was better than being "vaccinated"; and he threw his lot in with anti-vaxx conspiracy theorist Joe Rogan and that ilk.</p><p>This is the Packers' "leader." For all of his talent and regular-season success, no wonder they haven't even sniffed a Super Bowl in a decade. </p><p>The vaccine flap was all part of a bizarre 2021 for Rodgers that began with yet another playoff loss and then months of speculation about whether he had demanded a trade, whether the Packers would deal him, whether he'd be gone after this season, and on and on and on. </p><p>It was a stupid soap opera ... only to be made more stupid by his refusal to accept a proven, life-saving vaccine that could have protected him, his teammates, his family and everybody else he comes into contact with.</p><p>Gobble, gobble, you Turkey!</p></span><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">^</span></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-294305527909452862021-07-04T12:35:00.003-04:002021-07-04T12:35:57.088-04:00Was Marv Albert the greatest announcer ever? YES!<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span style="font-size: large;">^</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="8dj6h-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">Watching the end of the Bucks-Hawks game last night made me a little sad. Not because I'm a Hawks fan, but </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">because</span><span data-offset-key="8dj6h-2-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I've been admiring the work of <b>Marv Albert</b> for nearly 5 decades, and that was his last event as an announcer.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGr7LM0_6ntKa_8w_ZXyHa2yh-BtCP-xFKQgBK88qt1MChBayy4aNV0TG-3Ac9qsfNm2m-8QII6UPHDTddZqyttwVVc-aOCJYaU1GWyc2WpRY1XSGxOK2Y_jpbbY4tYb6CBZPwfDCwHo/s1024/Marv-Albert-retiring-NBA-playoffs-TNT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGr7LM0_6ntKa_8w_ZXyHa2yh-BtCP-xFKQgBK88qt1MChBayy4aNV0TG-3Ac9qsfNm2m-8QII6UPHDTddZqyttwVVc-aOCJYaU1GWyc2WpRY1XSGxOK2Y_jpbbY4tYb6CBZPwfDCwHo/w400-h266/Marv-Albert-retiring-NBA-playoffs-TNT.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #bfbfbf; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">NBAE via Getty Images</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When I was a kid growing up in Connecticut, I was a huge Knicks fan, and I used to keep score of Knicks games as I listened to Marv's radio calls. (OK, I was a nerd; whatever!) </span></span></p><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="eg4bg-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="eg4bg-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I'd check the box score in the paper the next day, and it was amazing how accurate not only the point totals were but also the rebounds and assists. Because Marv made it possible for me to "see" the game while listening to his radio call. </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="aln0g-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="aln0g-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="aln0g-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="7d1a3-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7d1a3-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="7d1a3-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And even as he was accurate, he did add little flourishes that made games more enjoyable. Walt Frazier wasn't just fouled, he was "<i>run</i> into." Earl Monroe didn't just make a layup, "He <i>drives</i> and hits." Phil Jackson didn't just defend an inbounds pass, he used his long arms for "the windmill effect." And of course, there was Marv's trademark, <i>"YES!"</i> (And, as an occasional bonus, <i>"YES ... AND IT COUNTS!</i> He was fouled on the play!")</span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="1n2q8-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1n2q8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="1n2q8-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="6oci4-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6oci4-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6oci4-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Marv Albert was no homer. When opposing players made great plays, he'd say so. And when the Knicks sucked, he'd say so. To this day, I have trouble listening to over-the-top homer announcers. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6oci4-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6oci4-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6oci4-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6oci4-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">His dedication to objectivity and accuracy made him a natural to make the jump from local to national announcing.</span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="4683i-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4683i-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="4683i-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="9vof5-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9vof5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="9vof5-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Being a sportswriter, the Knicks fan got "beaten out" of me pretty early into my career. Indeed, as an AP guy, I -- like Marv -- strongly valued objectivity and accuracy. I didn't root for the teams I covered (nor did I root against them). </span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="fskn-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fskn-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="fskn-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="125vh-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="125vh-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="125vh-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But even after I stopped being a Knicks fan, I never stopped being a Marv Albert fan. He was the best chronicler of live basketball games I've ever heard ... and I've heard a bazillion of them during the 55 years that Marv plied his trade.</span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="2ebo6-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2ebo6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="2ebo6-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="dgtrh-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dgtrh-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="dgtrh-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Oh, and he was a gifted hockey announcer, too, and darn good at football and boxing.</span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="5d1op-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5d1op-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="5d1op-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="7v56e" data-offset-key="dur3o-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dur3o-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="dur3o-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">So yes, last night was bittersweet. I'm glad I got to hear Marv one last time. But I'm sad it was the last time.</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dur3o-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="dur3o-0-0"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">^</span></span></div></div>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-83099721749168666212021-03-18T16:24:00.006-04:002021-03-18T16:28:15.280-04:00Stone Cold Lock - My 2021 NCAA Bracket<p><span style="font-size: large;"> ^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Well, here's my 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">If you win big money betting on this, I get 50%.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">If you lose big money betting on this, I never heard of you.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">If you just use this for comic relief ... you're very smart.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSrRBlYEhUfhiGviOsw749Jk21XDnZA6MKzercaLZ0Gqhy0VFmbGbV2EY1DoRum_JgSmR8C5lB0TYibK5x287fd77iRbi-C8cRY15_vOQvtBccPTqfdF4o-uKMz_yCJfZux6TwUTkJyA/s2048/2021+NCAA+bracket.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="2048" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSrRBlYEhUfhiGviOsw749Jk21XDnZA6MKzercaLZ0Gqhy0VFmbGbV2EY1DoRum_JgSmR8C5lB0TYibK5x287fd77iRbi-C8cRY15_vOQvtBccPTqfdF4o-uKMz_yCJfZux6TwUTkJyA/w400-h289/2021+NCAA+bracket.png" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><p><span>(Click on the image if you actually want to see it.)</span></p><p><span>Some upsets in there because, well, ya gotta. Rutgers in the Sweet 16. San Diego State and Oregon in the Elite 8. And UConn in my Final Four.</span></p><p><span>What the heck, right?</span></p><p><span>In the end, I have the Fighting Illini cutting down the nets for the first time ever thanks to an exciting win over the Zags.</span></p><p><span>One thing I didn't pick were any 12s to upset any 5s. Everybody loves picking 12s, and three 12s did win in the last pre-COVID tourney. But in the previous four tournaments, 12s went 3-13 -- including 0-fers in 2015 and 2018. I'm feelin' another 0-fer coming. (So now watch the 12s go 4-0.) </span></p>Anyhoo ...</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Good luck, everybody, and may your March be as Mad as yiou want it to be.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">^</span></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-55041214918566257492021-02-16T17:36:00.001-05:002021-02-16T17:36:30.406-05:00Honest, Abe -- You've been great to drive for a decade now!<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> ^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Starting with the 1973 Plymouth Valiant my parents gave me during my senior year of college, I have owned 32 cars.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">That's right ... thirty-two!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Many I owned for less than a year, as I had a problem or an addiction or ... I don't know what to call my inability to be satisfied with whatever car I had for longer than a couple of years (or, in some cases, a couple of months). </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">What I do know is that if I had kept my cars for several years each instead of hopping willy-nilly from one to another, we'd probably be living on a private island by now.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes, we were victimized by bad luck. Our 1986 Mazda 626 was stolen about six weeks after we bought it. A few years later we bought a beautiful, blue 1990 Mazda 626 ... but a tree fell on it only 9 days after we got it home. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">No wonder Mazda no longer makes the 626 - it was cursed!!!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We had a few other mishaps, a couple of real lemons, and a car whose interior smelled faintly like smoke (not sure why we bought the dang thing in the first place, but we didn't keep it very long). </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, and our poor 2007 Toyota Prius got totaled in an accident in a mall parking lot just a few months after we moved to Charlotte.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjO7x6YtOGp0SKRKNQkldKVz8Qtu1R2bA1EWm9jHpXt7rMhmlgzVHkDG-IgzX2Y0922pQJefqI4LuE8-QGp-EH_sAu2lx6oKzn00Zko7rrQa1w7Dk_kGwvmgD4s-5A3Bs4PpjAmXOZwYY/s2048/DSCN0711+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjO7x6YtOGp0SKRKNQkldKVz8Qtu1R2bA1EWm9jHpXt7rMhmlgzVHkDG-IgzX2Y0922pQJefqI4LuE8-QGp-EH_sAu2lx6oKzn00Zko7rrQa1w7Dk_kGwvmgD4s-5A3Bs4PpjAmXOZwYY/w400-h300/DSCN0711+%25281%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Back in 1992, I drove a 1981 Honda Civic that was held together by rust. Even though the kids and I lovingly called it <i>"The Chariot,"</i> Robbie wouldn't let the kids ride in it. Bought that one for $350 and sold it 4 months later for $375!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">So why am I in Reminiscence Mode about my 32 cars?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Because today is Abe's 10th birthday!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">"Abe" is my 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe. He's still a beauty, no?</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMulSv2oO4XTbcXXsZ221n7DTXC8thmeqwN7xElNsawF-WmEqICpp0AMGQm27PbSvRr8FRllFa8yJRkZLxWXVVuQKdxHxZo3a38UhcTv5TbZTqHo-hlNZVGwlc2GOioIbW82dlabtFx1g/s2048/IMG_1221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMulSv2oO4XTbcXXsZ221n7DTXC8thmeqwN7xElNsawF-WmEqICpp0AMGQm27PbSvRr8FRllFa8yJRkZLxWXVVuQKdxHxZo3a38UhcTv5TbZTqHo-hlNZVGwlc2GOioIbW82dlabtFx1g/w480-h640/IMG_1221.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We gave him his name because his first license plate started with the letters ABE. He has been an outstanding car for us ... and we have had him longer - by far - than any other car.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Second on the longevity list was the 1986 Ford Taurus Wagon we bought new in '86 and kept for 6 years and 8 months. Third and fourth were the two Hyundai sedans we bought since moving to North Carolina. Robbie currently drives a 2016 Sonata Hybrid - a car we've had for a little over 4 years.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Abe's plate was replaced several years ago, first by one reading <i><b>16CHAMPS</b></i> after the middle school where I used to coach won our first <a href="http://thebaldesttruth.blogspot.com/2016/03/greatness-calls-and-my-eagles-answer.html" target="_blank">conference title</a> (in 2016 - get it?), and then <b><i>2XCHAMPS</i></b> after we <a href="http://thebaldesttruth.blogspot.com/2017/02/destiny-calls-and-my-champions-answer.html" target="_blank">repeated in 2017</a>. I continue to wait for another of my teams to give me a reason to get a new plate!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">No matter what the plate says now, Abe is still Abe, and he is still going strong. His "Pacific Blue Pearl" paint looks pretty darn good for a 10-year-old car. He has just under 85,000 miles - not many for a 2011.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, Abe has had his share of bumps and bruises. During a 2013 visit to Chicago, he was minding his own business in a parking lot when </span><span style="font-size: large;">some jerk smashed in his back window</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDr4lInGfu01wiMIrLjerAW0x7mc7gRNL8vMwKTJy_LII5FwUJc2Ws8UXbvRO6jM5i-GMweur72J6VKzLYn0EKp39PP4ex13B_-JkesTOUW98zN6p6-9og46-5USJexTeH-oTfI087on8/s320/IMG_1371+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDr4lInGfu01wiMIrLjerAW0x7mc7gRNL8vMwKTJy_LII5FwUJc2Ws8UXbvRO6jM5i-GMweur72J6VKzLYn0EKp39PP4ex13B_-JkesTOUW98zN6p6-9og46-5USJexTeH-oTfI087on8/w400-h300/IMG_1371+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: medium;">February is a big month for 10th birthdays and anniversaries. Back on Feb. 2, our loyal pup Simmie turned 10. And Feb. 11 was the 10th anniversary of us buying our one and only N.C. home.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Given the way I went through cars, though, I thought Abe's 10th birthday was especially notable.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Although I have started thinking about what kind of vehicle I might want to drive next, I plan to continue my relationship with good ol' Abe for a while longer.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I'll never be one of those guys who gets to brag about putting his 500,000th mile on his trusty 35-year-old pickup - that's simply not how I'm wired - but it's nice to know that I finally have kicked my car-buying addiction!</span></p><p>^</p><p><br /></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-451133941673988862021-02-07T12:48:00.005-05:002021-02-07T12:52:35.574-05:00Super Memories ... and this year's Super prediction<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">If you're a sports fan like me, you smile as you think about your favorite teams over the years.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">If you were a Patriots fan the last 2 decades, or a Bulls fan in the 1990s, or a Yankees fan in the 1940s and '50s, you get to do a lot of smiling as you stroll down Memory Lane.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Most of us don't have that many happy highlights. Think of Cleveland fans, or Detroit fans, or Philly fans, or Buffalo fans. There's a good memory here and there ... and also a lot of torturous ones.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">For me ... the Dolphins were the first pro team in any sport that I took a liking to, and I still can recite the entire lineup and uniform numbers of the 1972 undefeated champions and their (actually superior) 1973 successors. To this day, <b>Larry Csonka</b> is my all-time favorite athlete, and I'll be wearing my official replica No. 39 Dolphins jersey for today's Super Bowl LV. Although that was a lifetime ago, the memories obviously remain special -- almost like a first crush.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezGhuVvLt4hco7ia00R7z28TOXnd0X4nLiyjJ1nijtH58gn0R3-9krTZz1b6oMXxBccmkS8-Dr9B41fn_cpp2_e7DGiut9bzg466EUkOiDxNKOVkyf2fcqqb2qM1WL9PQY3uBt6H-aLw/s220/Csonka_Larry_Action_180-220.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="180" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezGhuVvLt4hco7ia00R7z28TOXnd0X4nLiyjJ1nijtH58gn0R3-9krTZz1b6oMXxBccmkS8-Dr9B41fn_cpp2_e7DGiut9bzg466EUkOiDxNKOVkyf2fcqqb2qM1WL9PQY3uBt6H-aLw/w327-h400/Csonka_Larry_Action_180-220.jpg" width="327" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Then came the late-1970s Yankees of <b>Reggie Jackson</b> and <b>Billy Martin</b> and <b>Thurman Munson</b> and <b>George Steinbrenner</b> -- champions who also were a bunch of characters, many of whom hated each other. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">After that, I have cheered on some great teams but, ultimately, teams that didn't get it done at the end. The 1984 Dolphins, with a young <b>Dan Marino</b> setting record after record, were a thrill ... until they got crushed in the Super Bowl by the <b>Joe Montana</b> 49ers. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The 2003 Marquette Golden (Warrior) Eagles, led by the incomparable <b>Dwyane Wade </b>and the clutch <b>Travis Diener</b>, went to the Final Four ... but they were annihilated by eventual champion Kansas.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUSdLYJgeI7lb3dq40uyO7UIhkHGntFcREqTjO5FXp9KIT80t0MU8O36QQPc-a6PjidcUBQyh__tT6Ea7V-uX7Tpc-JWsGjHkt7ZMW3Vwsqtr2BM2A8FEzuJGHw92xDTIF9Btry3QfSI/s2048/wade.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1363" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgUSdLYJgeI7lb3dq40uyO7UIhkHGntFcREqTjO5FXp9KIT80t0MU8O36QQPc-a6PjidcUBQyh__tT6Ea7V-uX7Tpc-JWsGjHkt7ZMW3Vwsqtr2BM2A8FEzuJGHw92xDTIF9Btry3QfSI/w266-h400/wade.jpg" width="266" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">And then there were the 2015 Panthers.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Doggone it, that was a fun year to live in Charlotte. The city was buzzing every week as <b>Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly</b> & Co. dominated the league. With Cam's dabbin' fun personality, they were a bigger-than-life bunch who could really play football. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM68QxBkjL5k6tGiBfASv3SvDO_QljGFJD9dZgoRsLb57Am7NEiumxtnK1ye_gvkiDGsEwcfO-8_PPOO_gDwLpl15zIpg1eltn_g5FNoiiqR99s2rlZEs7vpbdO2gJpkHUiAJUGN2X3r4/s800/cam+dab.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM68QxBkjL5k6tGiBfASv3SvDO_QljGFJD9dZgoRsLb57Am7NEiumxtnK1ye_gvkiDGsEwcfO-8_PPOO_gDwLpl15zIpg1eltn_g5FNoiiqR99s2rlZEs7vpbdO2gJpkHUiAJUGN2X3r4/w400-h266/cam+dab.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Alas, they suffered an upset loss to the Broncos and their 106-year-old QB, <b>Peyton Manning</b>, in Super Bowl 50.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It's hard to believe it's been 5 years since that joyous season and that sad finish. Since then, the Panthers have changed owners, fired the GM (actually, fired 2 GMs), and replaced the coach and his entire staff. Only 4 players who were on that team are still on the roster. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">All of which brings me to today's Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Bucs.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A lot about this game reminds me of SB50. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Like the Panthers, the Chiefs cruised through the regular season behind a dynamic quarterback (<b>Patrick Mahomes</b>). Like the Broncos, the Bucs are their conference's surprising survivor and are led by the league's oldest quarterback (<b>Tom Brady</b>).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIhI1BYgy8jvltyiltQJrbA-NLGGyqQsIIpnyL5DJ1EN7GbMyseL54fqxK6-eRorSnSrKDLYVixOUJM_mFK3wAm1bALq7F4-TJuu4SxM2XAp7vol31XgNoERqowsacBGa3Jkhhpk758w/s1038/brady+mahomes+SI+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="794" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIhI1BYgy8jvltyiltQJrbA-NLGGyqQsIIpnyL5DJ1EN7GbMyseL54fqxK6-eRorSnSrKDLYVixOUJM_mFK3wAm1bALq7F4-TJuu4SxM2XAp7vol31XgNoERqowsacBGa3Jkhhpk758w/w306-h400/brady+mahomes+SI+cover.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">Like the Panthers, the Chiefs have an incredible offense and a pretty darn good defense. Like the Broncos, the Bucs have some superb defensive playmakers who can make life difficult for even great quarterbacks.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>I am sick and tired of Tom Brady winning. And I truly love watching Patrick Mahomes play. And yet I can't shake the feeling that Mahomes -- playing on a tender foot and behind an injured offensive line -- will spend much of the game running for his life, just as Newton did in SB50. </span><span>And I can't shake the feeling that Old Man Brady will be smiling at the end, just as Old Man Manning was.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u>Prediction</u> <i>(and I actually hope I'm wrong)</i>:</span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Bucs 27, Chiefs 24</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">^</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-6295270382546797882020-11-25T10:53:00.086-05:002020-11-25T11:43:31.216-05:00It's Turkey of the Year time again ... and for 2020, it's the Bigliest Turkey ever<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">I've been choosing the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Turkey of the Year</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> since 1998</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">. Sometimes the selection was </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial;">difficult because there were so many losers, louts, liars and/or lowlifes from which to choose ... and sometimes it was easy because the choice was obvious to me. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This year's pick falls into the Obvious category because he's a Loser with a capital L (as well as an infamous liar, lout and lowlife). </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Although there were others who would have been a fine top turkey pick in a more normal year, there's nothing normal about 2020. And there really was no other choice in a terrible year most of us wish would <i>JUST FREAKIN' END ALREADY!</i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But before we talk about him, here's a look back at my selections throughout the years ...</span></span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2019 -- <b>Antonio Brown</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2018 -- <b>J.R. Smith</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2017 -- <b>Kyle Shanahan</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2016 -- <b>Pat McCrory</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2015 -- <b>Derrick Rose</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2014 -- <b>Roger Goodell and Ray Rice</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2013 -- <b>Alex Rodriguez</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2012 -- <b>U.S. Ryder Cup Team</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2011 -- <b>Joe Paterno</b> (and his Penn State enablers)</span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2010 -- <b>Mark McGwire</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2009 -- <b>Milton Bradley</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2008 -- <b>Choking Cubbies</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2007 -- <b>Charlie Weis</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2006 -- <b>Aramis Ramirez</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2005 -- <b>Andy MacPhail, Jim Hendry and Dusty Baker</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2004 -- <b>Sammy Sosa</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2003 -- <b>Sammy Sosa</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2002 -- <b>Dick Jauron</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2001 -- <b>David Wells and Frank Thomas</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2000 -- <b>Bobby Knight</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1999 -- <b>Jerry Krause</b></span></span></li><li><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1998 -- <b>Mike McCaskey</b></span></span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Alert readers will note that up until 2010, each of those gentlemen did his turkeying in Chicago and/or the Midwest because that's where I was based. The "award" actually got its start under my Copley Newspapers predecessor and friend, the late, great</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Gene Seymour</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">. Since moving to North Carolina, I've expanded my Turkey-choosing horizons. Still, as always, I dedicate this in memory of Gene.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Additionally, on this Thanksgiving, I will be fondly remembering two beloved Copley colleagues who died this year: <b>Bill Rood</b>, a great guy who hired me as Chicago sports columnist back in 1998; and <b>Barry Locher</b>, my supervisor most of my Copley tenure, one of the best journalists I've ever known, and just a tremendous human being. They will be missed.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">+++</span></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Without further ado, here's the 2020 Turkey of the Year countdown ...</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>12. RUDY GOBERT.</b><span> Years from now, when we're looking back at the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic, the Utah Jazz center will be the answer to the question: What NBA nincompoop mockingly touched every microphone at a press conference just 48 hours before revealing he had the virus, leading to all sports in the United States getting shut down almost immediately?</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ASLovFt6jNc" width="320" youtube-src-id="ASLovFt6jNc"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><p><b style="font-weight: bold;">11. JIM HARBAUGH.</b><b> </b>Failing to beat Ohio State is now only one of the Michigan coach's many problems, as his program has become a national laughingstock.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>10. ROBINSON CANO.</b><span> </span><span>Juice much? His second PED-related suspension will cost the Mets second baseman the entire 2021 season -- and a cool $24 million. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>9. MIKE LEACH.</b><span> In April, the Mississippi State football coach retweeted an image of a woman knitting a noose, undermining the school's attempts to continue making progress on racial issues. That and other woes led to at least a dozen Bulldogs leaving the program, part of the reason Leach's team is 2-5 this season.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>8. GREGG MARSHALL.</b><span> The Wichita State basketball coach resigned under fire less than two weeks before the start of this delayed season after it was learned he had been abusing players physically, verbally and mentally for years. Nice guy.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>7. MINNESOTA TIMBERBABIES. </b>They traded for Jimmy Butler in 2017 because they sucked and they desperately needed a veteran leader. But the kids weren't all right, whining about having to play with such a demanding teammate, and Butler ended up in Miami -- where he led the surprising Heat to the NBA Finals. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, sucked again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>6. CODY BELLINGER and ENRIQUE HERNANDEZ.</b><span> It's hard to get on their case too much, because they were major contributors to the Dodgers' title run, but they might want to tone down their home-run celebrations. The massive forearm slam they gave each other after Bellinger's NL Championship Series-deciding HR against Atlanta ended up dislocating Bellinger's shoulder so badly he needed offseason surgery. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7ywlLS65Fu4n8-GhA9MxdBGOMXUu4dQOzdGWRx1P8ZsyTxH0cD3t0-OChlefabLX_2_Ti_0dgoMeHSiK4qGBZurbY8rvc3KFmyt-OEQCF5rQCCNKic_BwwlLQvVCwOId_rniMzDpZSg/s660/bellinger+hernandez.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="660" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7ywlLS65Fu4n8-GhA9MxdBGOMXUu4dQOzdGWRx1P8ZsyTxH0cD3t0-OChlefabLX_2_Ti_0dgoMeHSiK4qGBZurbY8rvc3KFmyt-OEQCF5rQCCNKic_BwwlLQvVCwOId_rniMzDpZSg/w400-h335/bellinger+hernandez.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><p><b style="font-weight: bold;">5. KEVIN CASH.</b><b> </b>At least Bellinger, Hernandez & Co. had reason to celebrate -- unlike Tampa Bay fans. Cash, the Rays' manager, took out ace Blake Snell after 5 1/3 stellar innings of Game 7 of the World Series. After TB's bullpen coughed up the lead, the Dodgers and their fans have an extra reason to be thankful this year.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>4. BILL O'BRIEN.</b><span> In May, the Houston Texans coach and GM traded away the team's best offensive player, DeAndre Hopkins. Predictably, after an 0-4 start, O'Brien became the team's ex-coach/GM. A few weeks later, Hopkins made the <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/social-media-goes-wild-after-deandre-hopkins-game-winning-hail-mary-catch" target="_blank">best catch</a> of the entire NFL season for the Arizona Cardinals.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>3. CLIPPERS.</b><span> Paul George -- the self-ordained <i>"Playoff P"</i> -- choked again. And this time he helped bring Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers down with him, as a team built to win a championship instead had to watch the other L.A. squad take the NBA crown.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>2. TOM BRADY.</b><span> 2020 began with the 42-year-old Patriots QB throwing a pick-6 that sealed New England's first-round playoff loss to Tennessee. And last week, the 43-year-old Bucs QB sealed a Tampa loss to the Rams with a horribly thrown INT. Oh, and in a loss to Chicago, Brady <a href="https://www.insider.com/tom-brady-fourth-down-buccaneers-2020-10" target="_blank">forgot which down it was</a> in a crucial situation; he later lied about his error and criticized teammates for making mistakes. History will say he's one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, maybe even </span><i>the</i><span> greatest, but Father Time stops for nobody.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">And now ... The 2020 Turkey of the Year ...</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>DONALD F. TRUMP</b></span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHwzLp-hxbuXCy-ArbfvXkshHHCa9oKuzuq52idFwd2DiB3cgucINXImBYyVNUTQIdCLclvXyeBf5bo2LCvYvwYnYtDerWtesUanq-Shv8JtlKmHoHm74N6pVFjZcA5PNXZcn5W59UjQ/s1000/trump+as+turkey.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHwzLp-hxbuXCy-ArbfvXkshHHCa9oKuzuq52idFwd2DiB3cgucINXImBYyVNUTQIdCLclvXyeBf5bo2LCvYvwYnYtDerWtesUanq-Shv8JtlKmHoHm74N6pVFjZcA5PNXZcn5W59UjQ/w400-h225/trump+as+turkey.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><p>It is sad (and more than a little scary) that more than 70 million Americans let themselves be conned so thoroughly that they voted for a deranged, racist, inept, dangerous, immoral, unethical, indecent, impeached liar who has shrugged his shoulders while 260,000 Americans have died on his watch.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Nevertheless, there still is much to be thankful for, namely ...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Worst President Ever "inspired" more people to vote against him than any candidate in the nearly 250-year history of our great democratic republic. So the bigliest cancer will officially be cut out of our national body in less than 2 months.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It is no secret that I do not care for the person I call, among other things ...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">President Pandemic ... President Super-Spreader ... Donnie Covidseed ... the Liar In Chief ... the Charlatan In Chief ... the Racist In Chief ... the Criminal In Chief ... the Narcissist In Chief ... Individual-1 ... the Emperor Wannabe ... Comrade Trumpsky ... Putin's Puppet ... The Worst President Ever ... and many more!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">My favorite nickname for him, though, is the most recent one: <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>LOSER IN CHIEF</b></span>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtngP7H_xvvO80Z7EOUyVvKhS9DMMviT8KF8mmMZ8xXv4vvEfDui87iGk5zqRKLL7Knj1yMn0SEIlS6mi6Is_wE1HP98UhvyMDg1O3_nQZ-GVuDFP8azoSX5KNYZomGiyWa3dpJmpZ2go/s2000/trump+L+hair.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1546" data-original-width="2000" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtngP7H_xvvO80Z7EOUyVvKhS9DMMviT8KF8mmMZ8xXv4vvEfDui87iGk5zqRKLL7Knj1yMn0SEIlS6mi6Is_wE1HP98UhvyMDg1O3_nQZ-GVuDFP8azoSX5KNYZomGiyWa3dpJmpZ2go/w400-h309/trump+L+hair.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I could go on and on about all the ways he has hurt our nation -- and is still hurting it weeks after the election, desperately trying to subvert our democracy by disenfranchising tens of millions of American voters, mostly minorities. But it would take me until Thanksgiving 2023 to list all of his heinous words, deeds and policies.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When I told my wife -- who has a stronger disdain for the Loser In Chief than any person I know -- that he was going to be my Turkey of the Year, she asked, "Great ... but what does he have to do with sports?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It's a legit question, and the legit answer is: "Plenty."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The former owner of the USFL's New Jersey Generals, he infamously drove that league to an early demise by insisting they challenge the NFL in court; the result was a $1 jury award, and the collapse of the USFL. Brilliant strategy by a guy who somehow managed to bankrupt numerous casinos.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But hey, at least that $1 award was tripled due to antitrust laws. Never has the simile "as phony as a $3 bill" rung more true.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZSiaAaW-QFBcBw19ee5kDGuVkyP2A8QMTOyun3oI6-u_ZTgifMo2KcsIZsOUQGC0r9Bomq1iJVbmqdMNmIYSnH4xLPc7gX9YQj2646Fy1oBZFz-XxKEPcAUBpw-voFHeklJuZmTKhEgA/s1140/trump+3+dollar+bill.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1140" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZSiaAaW-QFBcBw19ee5kDGuVkyP2A8QMTOyun3oI6-u_ZTgifMo2KcsIZsOUQGC0r9Bomq1iJVbmqdMNmIYSnH4xLPc7gX9YQj2646Fy1oBZFz-XxKEPcAUBpw-voFHeklJuZmTKhEgA/w400-h340/trump+3+dollar+bill.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><p>An overt racist, the Loser In Chief has viciously targeted Black athletes over the years ... and 2020 has only amplified that, as racial tensions swept the country following the brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. </p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On June 1, right after delivering a speech in the Rose Garden in which he called himself <i>"an ally of all peaceful protesters,"</i> he ripped athletes for saying they would take a knee during the national anthem.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Whether or not one believes athletes should take a knee in such situations is beside the point. I like to think everybody can agree that form of protest is, indeed, peaceful. But the Loser In Chief is a pathological liar and a racist, so of course he contradicted his own words. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hell, the very hour he lied about being an ally of peaceful protesters, he had his militia <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/867420472/trump-set-address-protests-against-police-killings-in-white-house-remarks" target="_blank">attack peaceful protesters</a> in Lafayette Square just so he could stage a photo-op of himself holding a bible upside-down -- an event so evil and depraved that even Pat Freakin' Robertson <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/06/pat-robertson-donald-trump-troops-against-protesters-it-isnt-cool-1202949837/" target="_blank">ripped him</a> for it. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgPiysxO8uZ5-GqtXdV7Hv0GUL3jUa0nfQA0oLmD13hCrjKd1Saku7hNRyiPHLwiEa5KfF4-ZxtVuW-h3P84KCpGuw1eHrRK4jov3GZejeulpnMjUQnuSs7VJuXJg7fx2fsp3xLJiFxE/s631/trump+holding+bible.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="631" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUgPiysxO8uZ5-GqtXdV7Hv0GUL3jUa0nfQA0oLmD13hCrjKd1Saku7hNRyiPHLwiEa5KfF4-ZxtVuW-h3P84KCpGuw1eHrRK4jov3GZejeulpnMjUQnuSs7VJuXJg7fx2fsp3xLJiFxE/w400-h258/trump+holding+bible.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><p>There's plenty more.</p><p>The Liar In Chief actually took credit for the Big Ten deciding to play football this season, resulting in this reaction from the president of one Big Ten university:</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: medium;"><b><i></i></b></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">“President Trump had nothing to do with our decision and did not impact the deliberations. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">In fact, when his name came up (in conversation among the 14 league presidents), it was a negative, because no one wanted this to be political.”</span></i></b></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: medium;"></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Racist In Chief also ripped Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in NASCAR, for something Wallace did not do.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Emperor Wannabe is so disgustingly racist that many of America's highest-profile Black athletes have refused to go to the White House to be honored for winning championships. For that matter, entire teams have declined the invitation to give the Narcissist In Chief a chance to bloviate and lie in their presence.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then there's golf ...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After relentlessly criticizing his predecessor for playing too often, the Liar In Chief has teed it up more than any president ever. Rather than working with experts to do something about a virus that he himself called <i>"more deadly than even your strenuous flus,"</i> Donnie Covidseed has kept burying his head in sand traps.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Not surprisingly, the guy who has been trying to cheat his way to a second term is an inveterate rule-breaker on the golf course, as documented hilariously by author Rick Reilly.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeUv4QIlOcmvk0DOEOp0YG2cyldELK0IZJwjJSt8RltHyTkEFhv8upP94ihZXn7MmYY4VL8ZWnpIlZhUfUBbEW2J9gMxgWMhD59Tyx5T9sbm5c7tzPISe1neutzJzQj7nrUw3ZZq4L-U/s675/commander+in+cheat.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeUv4QIlOcmvk0DOEOp0YG2cyldELK0IZJwjJSt8RltHyTkEFhv8upP94ihZXn7MmYY4VL8ZWnpIlZhUfUBbEW2J9gMxgWMhD59Tyx5T9sbm5c7tzPISe1neutzJzQj7nrUw3ZZq4L-U/w266-h400/commander+in+cheat.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><p>So there are plenty of sports-related reasons to explain the obvious:</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In this, one of the worst years ever, there was no other possible choice for Turkey of the Year than The Worst President Ever.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Jan. 20, 2021, Inauguration Day for <b>Joe Biden, </b>can't get here soon enough.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">^</span></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-74825214064662296902020-10-13T11:47:00.001-04:002020-10-13T11:51:31.223-04:00Happy Birthday To Me ... And LOTS of Others You Know and Love (or Loathe)<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Normally, I wouldn't write about my own birthday - not even a milestone BD like this one - but let me tell you ... </span><span>October 13 is the birthday of the stars! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">My most famous (or infamous) "birthday buddies" include ...</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Glenn "Doc" Rivers</b><span>, my Marquette cohort who went on to make a bit of a name for himself in basketball. Not only is the new Sixers coach one of my all-time favorite people in sports, but he also made my favorite basket ever when his heave from just inside half-court beat evil Notre Dame in 1981 (his freshman year, my junior year). Surprisingly, even though Glenn could jump out of the arena, he really sucked at volleyball in Charlie Nader's Team Sports class.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQqis5ZcMa6MDSITCXh0fPMeYCUOiF52AXEm_c5K6RpXAUSMF8jQv75LTEK6jtHcmvBzguDPL2zQ5vZRuXFN9OwEwDUgep5ZV74Aj5OfwYcCbqiGrUNzC_52aMiThsIwx82jCr0ouE1Q/s660/rivers+winner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="660" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQqis5ZcMa6MDSITCXh0fPMeYCUOiF52AXEm_c5K6RpXAUSMF8jQv75LTEK6jtHcmvBzguDPL2zQ5vZRuXFN9OwEwDUgep5ZV74Aj5OfwYcCbqiGrUNzC_52aMiThsIwx82jCr0ouE1Q/s320/rivers+winner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Jerry Rice</b><span>, the best wide receiver any of us have ever seen.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Cowboys owner </span><b>Jerry Jones</b><span>, whose overrated "America's Team" has won all of 4 playoff games since winning Super Bowl XXX 2 1/2 <i>decades</i> ago. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Borat alter ego <b>Sacha Baron Cohen: </b><i>"King of the castle!"</i></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbpvOudMvRFTosLw6OmMTqiSs6s85iKM9cUzrsrDuGfUNDLU6Imdmp-axAYX0cL5jLybMteNFqjn7EQR3IkZ9Tl-XRwEBA715rmjbbsAnhyFrd153A2DihSlpFtK1qlPptRnk9mR0pio/s462/borat+very+nice.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbpvOudMvRFTosLw6OmMTqiSs6s85iKM9cUzrsrDuGfUNDLU6Imdmp-axAYX0cL5jLybMteNFqjn7EQR3IkZ9Tl-XRwEBA715rmjbbsAnhyFrd153A2DihSlpFtK1qlPptRnk9mR0pio/s320/borat+very+nice.webp" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Baseball Hall of Famers </span><b>Trevor Hoffman</b><span> and </span><b>Eddie Mathews</b><span>, Hall of Fame jockey </span><b>Pat Day,</b><span> and future basketball Hall of Famer </span><b>Paul Pierce.</b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Billy Bush</b>, he of <i>President Pussy-Grabber's</i> Access Hollywood tape fame.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Journalist </span><b>Jamal Khashoggi</b><span>, murdered in 2018 by the Saudi dictator (with the tacit approval of the U.S. president). Shameful.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Olympic skater <b>Nancy Kerrigan</b>: <i>"Why me?" </i>(So unfair. She was a great skater, but she'll be remembered forever as Tonya Harding's victim.)</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gXl8xf2NCFhhyphenhyphennRCOqnmlxALrD3NjBtjHOc0ZAYRyIsvWOU834Z6avxqX5AC6gqXc0gO-VJzd87-kJ1MwzxiAETGCD2W5J5spe6kV92vRjItu8azsoQoRoAAYmRY_-uFjhQa-cMfp6M/s431/nancy-kerrigan-why-me.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gXl8xf2NCFhhyphenhyphennRCOqnmlxALrD3NjBtjHOc0ZAYRyIsvWOU834Z6avxqX5AC6gqXc0gO-VJzd87-kJ1MwzxiAETGCD2W5J5spe6kV92vRjItu8azsoQoRoAAYmRY_-uFjhQa-cMfp6M/s320/nancy-kerrigan-why-me.jpg" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Tiffany Trump</b>, or, as President Pandemic calls her, <i>"Uh ... Who are you?"</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A little bit country, <b>Marie Osmond.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A lot of rock and roll, <b>Paul Simon.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Caleb McGlaughlin</b> -- Lucas of Stranger Things fame.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MWhE6YKTDD2WIOeNsnzjUW_Q-hFL1Usnz1Be3JEb9kEHbOlEQznRTk73KvLxaB2qE-JcchwhCSEAupqizikUFx9K27Fcl6PuWmzDvbrGfkhyphenhyphenqlZcCybnF07NZHDbWgyndAIlaTob7O4/s300/caleb+mclaughlin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1MWhE6YKTDD2WIOeNsnzjUW_Q-hFL1Usnz1Be3JEb9kEHbOlEQznRTk73KvLxaB2qE-JcchwhCSEAupqizikUFx9K27Fcl6PuWmzDvbrGfkhyphenhyphenqlZcCybnF07NZHDbWgyndAIlaTob7O4/s0/caleb+mclaughlin.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Kelly Preston</b>, who had a memorable turn as Jerry Maguire's squeeze. (Sadly, she died earlier this year.)</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Sammy Hagar</b>, aka The Red Rocker!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The late great </span><b>Lenny Bruce</b><span>.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Hero or villain? With </span><b>Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, </b><span>it depends upon which side of the aisle one stands. At only 31, AOC has a lot of decades left to be loved and loathed.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7TZjgDkTbfZuIfqyz7pn0NW131qN1gNepOB1faYu1m2f9NTFXfyWS0g_f7XQJickjMs5K7lnrPm45ZzKgFg8lw4jn0KZ36tx9KzLIfuXlN7_zBZxufjJPUcGL9yNTVUofx5vcIQGkTk/s990/aoc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="990" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7TZjgDkTbfZuIfqyz7pn0NW131qN1gNepOB1faYu1m2f9NTFXfyWS0g_f7XQJickjMs5K7lnrPm45ZzKgFg8lw4jn0KZ36tx9KzLIfuXlN7_zBZxufjJPUcGL9yNTVUofx5vcIQGkTk/s320/aoc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i>But wait! There's more!</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Actors </span><b>Ashanti, Tisha Campbell, Lorraine Day, Melinda Dillon, Nipsey Russell, Kate Walsh, Matt Walsh, Cornel Wilde, Demond Wilson</b><span> ... athletes/coaches </span><b>Tim Brewster, Ryan Clark, Norris Cole, Brian Dawkins, George Frazier, Derek Harper, Del Harris, Brian Hoyer, Jermaine O'Neal, Lou Saban, Summer Sanders, Reggie Theus, Rube Waddell, Eddie Yost</b><span> ... Politics' </span><b>Ari Fleischer, Margaret Thatcher</b><span> ... Musician </span><b>John Ford Coley</b><span> ... Sportscaster </span><b>Tom Mees</b><span>.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">WOW!!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And lest I forget, my one-time Chicago sportswriting colleague, golf buddy and all-around great guy <b>Phil Arvia -</b> who loves to remind me that although we have the same birthday, he is WAAAAAAAAY (2 years) younger than I am.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0qr3OQn1Nb6rwN9vlUxrJ6HkWkZzFxl3Kp8e6ktry4k0SuGSjzBRIDUB7Vrhq-5lBzNeOr9tiGTXmdACdQpFoD9sodZAetc0OW5LPlZWHLp4M4V9TvALIHJYtBRbEE2FDIOzml_BGFs/s2048/IMG_20191012_213145896.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0qr3OQn1Nb6rwN9vlUxrJ6HkWkZzFxl3Kp8e6ktry4k0SuGSjzBRIDUB7Vrhq-5lBzNeOr9tiGTXmdACdQpFoD9sodZAetc0OW5LPlZWHLp4M4V9TvALIHJYtBRbEE2FDIOzml_BGFs/s320/IMG_20191012_213145896.JPG" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">And speaking of people younger than I am ...</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">That's a pretty large group these days.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Yes, today I turned ...</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;">The Big 6-0!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Take away my aching back, tight hamstrings and bad vision, and I really don't feel that old. I mean, I'm still as immature as ever, and that's kind of a Fountain of Youth, right? I also golf every bit as well as I ever have!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I am the youngest of <b>Rhoda and Jerry Nadel's</b> 4 sons. By FAR the youngest! The baby!! I'll always be able to hold that over the heads of <b>Al, Don and Lee</b> - none of whom is even allowed to sing <i>"When I'm 64"</i> anymore.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was 13 when I started high school, 17 when I started college and 21 when I entered the workforce in my chosen profession. (Journalism, silly. I only moonlighted as a Chippendale.)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was a groovy, hip, happenin' dude.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLirZR2o1LDuuaC3Wf6zNM8hkZh-ThyW9PoSOyZ8yqdiAiGYesmNVCUr2P-fwSTRIP1XjGTYj7VXHj1F65FRMIfdMyRa-vLkXVXoJLpyoLsrFm8A0hRwnym26MX5C6WXj21iDZSie8Pk/s2048/Mike+MU+ID.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLirZR2o1LDuuaC3Wf6zNM8hkZh-ThyW9PoSOyZ8yqdiAiGYesmNVCUr2P-fwSTRIP1XjGTYj7VXHj1F65FRMIfdMyRa-vLkXVXoJLpyoLsrFm8A0hRwnym26MX5C6WXj21iDZSie8Pk/s320/Mike+MU+ID.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">When I was 24, I became the youngest full-time sportswriter in the AP, a distinction I held for about 5 more years. During that time, I was one of a handful of AP scribes dubbed "The Young Turks." (Mysteriously, <b>Howard Ulman</b>, who is 13 years older than I am, also was put in that group. Apparently, bribes work.)</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">On my 29th birthday, I noticed I was going bald. The Vikings had traded for <b>Herschel Walker</b> the day before and photographers took an overhead shot of the media throng around him. And there my head was: curly hair encircling a surprisingly large patch of skin. Yikes!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was even young when I was put out to pasture - retired at 48 by the clowns at GateHouse Media, who couldn't afford to keep hundreds of their real employees but amazingly found hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonus money for all their pencil-dick managers. (Not that I'm bitter or anything.)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was a little worried when I got the heave-ho, but retirement has turned out to be pretty darn sweet. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I learned how to invest, which led to writing about investing, which led to my freelance gigs at <a href="https://dailytradealert.com/income-builder-portfolio/" target="_blank">Daily Trade Alert</a> and <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/author/mike-nadel#regular_articles" target="_blank">Seeking Alpha</a> and <a href="https://dividendsandincome.com/mike-nadels-grand-twins-college-fund/" target="_blank">Dividends and Income</a>. (I especially recommend clicking on that last one and looking at some articles to see amazingly cute photos of my adorable grand-twins, <b>Logan and Jack</b>.)</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKAfwNwbplE2wr4nF9oJpDwA7NXy2BuHQOYcbBeYuWNpx3dghQuO6dmC-BaOb-9TgI08di4486cdJqU_wKD1AZT1o4D5lP6P5KTLQfzcnskfqe8yLKy1fZ65cOGPaj7N4sTmHry61gtZ8/s806/j-lo+BD+side+by+side.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="806" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKAfwNwbplE2wr4nF9oJpDwA7NXy2BuHQOYcbBeYuWNpx3dghQuO6dmC-BaOb-9TgI08di4486cdJqU_wKD1AZT1o4D5lP6P5KTLQfzcnskfqe8yLKy1fZ65cOGPaj7N4sTmHry61gtZ8/s320/j-lo+BD+side+by+side.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">I coach basketball, I referee, I umpire, I pretty much do whatever I want (within reason). </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, all that is only possible because of my beautiful bride of 37+ years, <b>Robbie</b>. It's great to have a Sugar Mama, and I strongly recommend every man get one (or more).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR9yWYBCzSZjyAC8fyimV6pH3HcDtCfVpMG4SxLlRyWqpOwH8gDnXS_OXvNsLPtuQSpxnmoedDqk3rzgjU1xfHxscOprkb63fIvUl6U9iHgSCx6VpFIcyHCjzuU5nv9TJMSpuMlJjwL4/s455/rob+mike+simmie.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="428" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR9yWYBCzSZjyAC8fyimV6pH3HcDtCfVpMG4SxLlRyWqpOwH8gDnXS_OXvNsLPtuQSpxnmoedDqk3rzgjU1xfHxscOprkb63fIvUl6U9iHgSCx6VpFIcyHCjzuU5nv9TJMSpuMlJjwL4/s320/rob+mike+simmie.PNG" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">And now that I've got <b>Ben</b>'s littles toddling around - and, exciting, exciting, exciting! - another cutie any day now from <b>Katie</b>, I'll have no choice but to stay young.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">You know, I'm already looking forward to the next 60 years. Heck, by the time I turn 120, COVID-19 might even have disappeared <i>"like a miracle."</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As my favorite rocker, <b>Roger Clyne</b>, likes to sing: </span></p><p><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">Here's to life! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Wishing health, happiness, peace and love to all of my family, friends ... and, yes, to my birthday buddies everywhere.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">^</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-60015030613029565862020-06-04T13:18:00.001-04:002020-06-04T13:18:14.575-04:00Trump is more than just human scum; his policies are reprehensible, too^<br /><span style="font-size: large;">Y'all probably have noticed that I've gone all rainbows and unicorns for quite some time here on TBT. I've been writing about my adorable grand-twins, my basketball team and other important but fun topics that give me personal enjoyment. There's enough angst and anger and fear out there without me piling on all the time.</span><div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But amidst the backdrop of our country burning due to the combined 1-2 punch of the brutal murder of George Floyd by racist Minneapolis cops, and a global pandemic that has killed more than 100,000 Americans and deeply hurt our economy, somebody said something to me today that made me feel I needed to go another direction this time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That person justified his support of the impeached Donald F. Trump by saying: "Yeah, he's no saint, but people need to focus on his policies."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">OK ... let's.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>"When the looting starts, the shooting starts"</b> IS policy. So was tearing kids out of their mothers' arms and locking them in cages. So was stealing money from military families to build a wall that he claimed 1,000 times Mexico would pay for. So was having to start an entirely new welfare program for farmers that he personally hurt with his trade wars. So is having his militia attack peaceful protesters just so he can have a photo-op. I could go on and on with his delightful policies.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoWvvpQuvB0AkVrmOtHe_2v40WcpGoChN_p_8xhJRCx6VtGPR0CTHoOFbJ7-ekcX_QTSWuj5usA9IjC4owCKML76RVmrUndfBEqewOlmXGeMz8wjh6nFP3l0u8ty78snsY67AMnxTdpnk/s1600/trump+holding+bible.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoWvvpQuvB0AkVrmOtHe_2v40WcpGoChN_p_8xhJRCx6VtGPR0CTHoOFbJ7-ekcX_QTSWuj5usA9IjC4owCKML76RVmrUndfBEqewOlmXGeMz8wjh6nFP3l0u8ty78snsY67AMnxTdpnk/s400/trump+holding+bible.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Trump uses a bible as prop at the end of his march through Lafayette Square. </span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">He had just given a Rose Garden speech in which he said he was</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">"an ally of all peaceful protesters," but he had his militia clear the park</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">by force so he could have this photo-op. He has been roundly criticized, even</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">by many who had supported him, and religious clergy have called him<br />sacrilegious. </span><span style="text-align: start;">How bad was it? Even Pat Robertson ripped him! (AFP Photo) </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Telling everybody to take an unvetted, dangerous drug because <i>"what the hell do you have to lose?"</i> IS policy. (The drug, hydroxycloroquine just <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/health/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus-trump.html">failed a clinical trial</a>, and the FDA has issued warnings about taking it for COVID-19.) Telling governors they have to re-open their states only hours after issuing guidelines for re-opening that none of those states had met ... that IS policy.</span><div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just yesterday, his own <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/esper-announces-he-opposes-using-insurrection-act-to-send-military">defense secretary</a>, Mark Esper, publicly rebuked President Bone Spur's most recent policy initiative: invoking the Insurrection Act, which would activate the military to use against those protesting systemic racism.</span><div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Also just yesterday, his <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/james-mattis-denounces-trump-protests-militarization/612640/">first defense secretary</a>, Jim Mattis, said: <b><i>"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people -- does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort."</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Making a deliberate effort to divide our great democratic republic IS policy.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmg8yQwEA0ux-ZXLd9SeY12TTz6B-6_b_NLEfT-zL6duhoyqbk59Ho-qELvR_NUWShu4KbuJHWbM2-Yw7YlwKnTQHgOJO8fqe1ntDs3hkR6HCSXqHWHecCG2EAE5R2X4npFtFsJsU2SE/s1600/jim+mattis.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmg8yQwEA0ux-ZXLd9SeY12TTz6B-6_b_NLEfT-zL6duhoyqbk59Ho-qELvR_NUWShu4KbuJHWbM2-Yw7YlwKnTQHgOJO8fqe1ntDs3hkR6HCSXqHWHecCG2EAE5R2X4npFtFsJsU2SE/s400/jim+mattis.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Former defense secretary Jim Mattis was praised by Trump <br />for </span><span style="text-align: start;">years, but the Mad King is not very fond of Mattis<br />after being strongly </span><span style="text-align: start;">rebuked by him. While Trump's biggest<br />sycophants and hate-talk-TV </span><span style="text-align: start;">allies ripped into Mattis, <br />U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) </span><span style="text-align: start;">said, "I was really <br />thankful. Gen. Mattis' words were true and </span><span style="text-align: start;">honest <br />and necessary and overdue." (brittannica.com Photo)</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Everybody knew Trump's character before the election. He is a reprehensible human being with few (if any) redeeming qualities - a pathological liar who has spent decades chiseling contractors, stealing from his own charity, cheating on three wives, swindling college students, treating women only as sex objects, stiffing creditors and making racist statements.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He spent 8 years trying (and failing) to prove that a president who was elected in a landslide and re-elected in another landslide was not a U.S. citizen; it's no coincidence that the subject of Trump's obsessive attacks is black. During the campaign, he viciously attacked his GOP rivals, even going after their families; now, disgustingly and inexplicably, most of them kiss his rump.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I give him credit for signing the First Step Act. I'm not sure how Ivanka, Kanye and Kim Kardashian convinced him to do it, but he did, and it's good policy. Maybe I could find another one or two of his policies to like if I really put on my thinking cap.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Otherwise, as Jim Mattis says, we are seeing the effect of 3+ years of his cruel, inept, corrupt, self-promoting, hateful policies, of his ignoring the Constitution to enrich his ego and his personal wealth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is a reason Dems easily re-captured the House in 2018, a reason they made more inroads in state legislatures and governorships in 2019, and a reason Joe Biden - hardly an inspiring candidate - is beating him in <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval-6179.html">most polls</a>, even those taken by right-leaning pollsters like Fox News and Rasmussen.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4mcZHyKxxmYI6fJZmhEgjMi_Bw9Bpj_UwaKPtY_yAoB-Cok_o7q0k1ycHfpDsTDU6dHkWA5jziXnkYS6iKCtGUHiq49W6Py4FZsCLPEB9XUZjbR2SpOgHCIZ2pZiGs-sQkM8FPRaaMvs/s1600/election+polls+6-4-20.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4mcZHyKxxmYI6fJZmhEgjMi_Bw9Bpj_UwaKPtY_yAoB-Cok_o7q0k1ycHfpDsTDU6dHkWA5jziXnkYS6iKCtGUHiq49W6Py4FZsCLPEB9XUZjbR2SpOgHCIZ2pZiGs-sQkM8FPRaaMvs/s400/election+polls+6-4-20.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(realclearpolitics.com)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, it's because Americans abhor the Mad King himself, but it's also because the vast majority of his policies have been awful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />All right, I'll climb back down off my soapbox for now. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Treat each other with love and respect. Be open-minded. Let's all remind ourselves often how fortunate most of us are while giving those who need assistance a helping hand, a receptive ear and a shoulder to cry on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We'll get through these difficult times. We can make a difference -- together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">^</span></div>
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Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-73700990378312361082020-05-19T11:45:00.001-04:002020-05-19T11:49:59.235-04:00Hey, look who had more of a "starring" role in The Last Dance than at least a dozen Bulls players did<span style="font-size: large;">^</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You know, it sure was nice that relative nobodies such as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Phil Jackson could follow my lead so we could work together to give sports fans the awesome viewing experience that was ESPN's <i>The Last Dance</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here I am, about 43 minutes into Episode 3, standing on the periphery of a January 1998 locker-room scrum around Jordan, dutifully taking notes.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv1raNWY8GU2DYvaJeOopZtySwmJSn-8gvRunONczA1UoyZT5zES19yWHEaGUsosITUCC4D42ttSFZCOl-AYTqAhjtmu7ZLEsa7bFL0qnz4WptaRavCE9PEi1ab9A-Ww5Dy6CdUkpYek4/s1600/mike+on+last+dance.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="748" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv1raNWY8GU2DYvaJeOopZtySwmJSn-8gvRunONczA1UoyZT5zES19yWHEaGUsosITUCC4D42ttSFZCOl-AYTqAhjtmu7ZLEsa7bFL0qnz4WptaRavCE9PEi1ab9A-Ww5Dy6CdUkpYek4/s400/mike+on+last+dance.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>ESPN</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you're reading this (and you are), you almost surely know that I was a newspaper guy back then. At the time of that 10-second cameo, I was a reporter for The Associated Press, but just a couple months later I started my columnist career for Copley Newspapers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, <span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">I </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; overflow-wrap: break-word;">still</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">own that green Faconnable<span style="color: #5f6368;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">s</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">hirt, which is now older than at least a half-dozen players on the current Bulls roster.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I made two more "appearances" in the series ... which means I had more air time than Jason Caffey, Dickey Simpkins, Joe Kleine, Robert Parish, Bison Dele, James Edwards, Keith Booth, Rusty LaRue and David Vaughn ... <i>combined</i>!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">About 42 minutes into Episode 8, as Jordan was just starting to sit down at his post-game press conference following the Bulls' 1996 Eastern Conference Finals sweep of the Magic, I asked the opening question:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"Was it extra sweet beating Orlando for you? That had been a motivating thing for you for over a year now."</span></i></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Jordan's answer: "<i>Because of last year, the number change, and (Nick Anderson saying) 45 didn't look like 23, and whatever. But we all were disappointed, and we came back to redeem ourselves as a unit. I think we did that - effectively."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And then about 16 minutes into the series finale, I asked Michael a long (probably too long) question after the Bulls won Game 4 of the NBA Finals to move within one win of Title No. 6:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"What are your thoughts, that it might not only be your last game with the Bulls but your last game ever? You know, you're sitting on a pedestal here, and obviously it's the thing that the world wants to know."</span></i></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Jordan's response: <i>"Well, I mean, the world basically is gonna hafta wait and see what happens. The job is not done, so let's not celebrate yet."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He ended up being right; the Bulls actually lost Game 5 at home and had to go back to Utah, where they clinched No. 6 after Michael stole the ball from Karl Malone, calmly dribbled down to the offensive end, found his spot, gave Bryon Russell a little shove, swished the championship-winning jumper and then held his follow-through extra long.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">AllPosters.com</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few other random thoughts after having watched the series ...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">++ What an undertaking it must have been to edit the hundreds of hours of film they had and to turn it into such a compelling story. I heard some criticism about the story jumping around some, but I thought they did a remarkable job.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">++ Jordan had control over the series' release, and I was impressed at the breadth of information he allowed to be shown. The stuff on his gambling (including a late-night outing during the playoffs), his father's death, and his brawl with Steve Kerr especially resonated. He cussed easily and often. He often revealed himself as a bully and a tyrant and, to quote Will Perdue, <i>"a dick." </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">++ The scene in which Jordan defended his dickishness as necessary to foster a winning atmosphere was one of the most memorable for me as a viewer. Tears were starting to well up in his eyes before he called for a "break" and took off his microphone. Although it's hard to argue with the results, the fact is that plenty of great teams in all sports over the years did not have a singular star who treated co-workers the way Jordan did the Bulls.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">++ Jordan's blanket dismissal of Gary Payton after being shown an interview of Payton saying he could defend Michael was classic.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">++ Michael never got into his failings as an executive, first with the Wizards and more recently as the Hornets' owner. Also, his family and his love life were kept almost completely out of it, and I don't blame him.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">++ I joked about me being in the series more than several Bulls players, including Bison Dele (aka, the late Brian Williams). But I think it would have been interesting had they done a little something about him. He came up huge during the 1997 playoffs, when Rodman went off the rails a little, and <a href="https://www.si.com/longform/bison-dele/index.html" target="_blank">his life story</a> (and the tragic ending to it) would have been a great subject. Having said that, I know they had only so much time to profile so many players.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">++ The only playoff game I missed during the second threepeat was the infamous "food poisoning game" in Utah, in which a dehydrated, ill Jordan carried the Bulls to an amazing victory and then had to be helped off the court by Pippen. My Mom had died a couple of days earlier, and I had to fly to Philadelphia for the funeral. She was buried that day, and I watched the game on TV with my brothers that night.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">AP Photos</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">++ One of the most quoted people in the series was Mark Vancil, Jordan's long-time biographer, award-winning author, and the guy who ran Rare Air Media for nearly two decades. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I got to know Mark when we were both young sportswriters in Minneapolis in the late-1980s: He covered the Twins for the Star Tribune, and I was the local AP guy. I always liked him, and I like to think the feeling's mutual. I also have to admit that Mark did a lot better job of advancing his career than I did.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">++ No player in sports history was as good at finding "insults" to motivate him as Jordan was. He would use any and every slight - even if he had to invent it - to be so pissed off that he needed to get "revenge" on his opponent. It would have been comical ... except it worked pretty much every time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">++ I was glad to hear Jordan say in the final episode that the dynasty didn't have to end, and that the team would have had a very realistic chance at a 7th title ... but neither Jerry Reinsdorf nor Jerry Krause wanted to let them try.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Reinsdorf had </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">bought into Krause's plan: Blow up the dynasty and then use the enormous space under the salary cap to reload quickly by signing 2-3 superstar free agents. Unfortunately for Reinsdorf, neither he nor Krause anticipated the players association being as resolute as it was, nor did they anticipate collective bargaining agreement changes that would offer significant incentives for players to not change teams.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />And finally, Reinsdorf had way too much faith in Krause's ability to attract free agents who would want to play for a blown-up franchise and an unproven coach. One of the saddest/funniest things to watch during the summer of 2000 was the way one free agent after another led Krause and Tim Floyd around on leashes in public dog-and-pony shows, only to choose other teams. After getting rejected by the likes of Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady and Eddie Jones, the desperate Bulls ended up throwing piles of money at Ron Freakin' Mercer.<br /><br />Reinsdorf, through Krause, badly bungled the Jackson situation. Even if you didn't want to keep him beyond 1998, publicly embarrassing the best coach of modern times due to a vendetta was horrible management.<br /><br />Despite Jordan's insistence that he would have only played had Jackson stayed, the truth is that he almost surely would have stayed had Jackson been replaced by somebody he respected (such as John Paxson or Bill Cartwright) and had Pippen been taken care of. After speaking to somebody very close to Jordan, I actually wrote a column to that effect in 2002 during Jordan's comeback with the Wizards.<br /><br />So all it would have taken for the Bulls to be favored to win another title or two would have been for Krause to have eaten his pride and for Reinsdorf to have been willing to spend the money out of the golden pockets that Michael had lined for him for years. Instead, Reinsdorf let Krause hire Floyd, watched the best player in basketball history walk away, and then saw his franchise spend the next several years as NBA laughingstocks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Many organizations in all sports chase even one elusive championship for decades. I mean, just look at the Cubs for over 100 years. When you win as often as the Bulls did, however, sometimes you undervalue what it means to win titles. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">You also think that you easily can replicate the success if you start over because, "hey, we did it once so we can do it again." </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Reinsdorf made a big bet on Krause, and he's now a bazillion miles away from anything close to success happening for his franchise again for the rest of his life.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">++ There is little doubt that Jordan had several great seasons left after 1998. He was still the best player in the league, still playing 82 games a year. When he came back in 2001-02 to the Wizards at age 38 after having sat out three full seasons, he was averaging 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists through the first 50 games. He personally had willed a bad Washington team into playoff contention and was a leading MVP candidate. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Getty Images</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">++ So you keep Jackson and Jordan, you give Scottie the contract he deserved, you still have Kukoc and Harper, each of whom had a few good years left, maybe you get Rodman to accept another cheap 1-year deal, and you build around all of them with good role players, something Krause did very well. But Reinsdorf didn't want to pay them all, and Krause desperately wanted to prove he could win without Jackson and Jordan. Which he couldn't.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">++ The baseball stuff involving Jordan was fascinating. I actually had moved to Chicago to work for AP shortly after Michael wrapped up his one minor-league season (1994), but my talented colleague Rick Gano handled most of the Jordan/baseball stuff. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">++ As I watched Kerr talking about his fistfight with Michael, my mind drifted back to the fall of 1995, when Kerr had an autograph-signing session at the Dominick's grocery store right down the street from where we lived in Chicago.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Ben, who was 8 years old, found a Kerr basketball card and begged me to take him. There were no fans there when we arrived, nor did anyone else show up as he talked with my son for several minutes, nor was anyone else coming up to see him as we left the store.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />Kerr might as well have been Jud or Dickey.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Obviously, he ended up having some big moments for the Bulls after Jordan returned, including the title-clinching shot in 1997. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfAK1EBbemj1mg-vU8_RmZ9eDTdokoQL0AlqrWpZ80MyNeMuOGhkZ1n-03WRrUiyOtp9bItaY5KGMzxTA_0X9seI_7DPA7E4-Ots1ZzwibtXzrEWDnEqMPYngo7uuplmHILjn6kHXlXo/s1600/mj+and+kerr.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="306" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfAK1EBbemj1mg-vU8_RmZ9eDTdokoQL0AlqrWpZ80MyNeMuOGhkZ1n-03WRrUiyOtp9bItaY5KGMzxTA_0X9seI_7DPA7E4-Ots1ZzwibtXzrEWDnEqMPYngo7uuplmHILjn6kHXlXo/s400/mj+and+kerr.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">NBA.com</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Michael eventually made him a ton of money, as Kerr got a way-too-big contract from San Antonio. And of course Kerr has gone on to be a great coach, and he was an outstanding announcer, too.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />But for 10+ minutes in 1995, nobody gave a rat's rump that Steve Kerr was signing autographs for free at Dominick's. Had he done the same even a year later, when everybody associated with Michael & The Bulls achieved rock-star status, there probably would have been a line out the door and around the block.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">+++</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">So ... what was my relationship with Michael Jordan?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'd be lying if I claimed we had a "relationship." I was never a daily beat writer, so I wasn't around him all the time, at home and on the road. Nor was I one of "his guys" in the broadcast media, such as Ahmad Rashad. I was always big on the separation of "church and state" when it came to writer/subject relationships, and it's not as if Jordan had time for or interest in that kind of thing anyway.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">But I did have the advantage of having a recognizable face (and head), so he definitely knew who I was even if he didn't remember my name. Most importantly, </span><span style="font-size: large;">I always felt he treated me with respect (as I did him). As the series showed, I also was pretty aggressive in asking questions early and loudly in post-game settings, because it was the only way to get heard over the hype. I think he recognized that, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">+++</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I was not a big autograph guy or memorabalia collector. Mostly, I liked saving snapshots of my sportswriting life, especially my press passes from big events. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">A few of my favorite keepsakes are newspaper clips of photographs in which I happened to be part of the scene.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">For example, on the wall of my office, I have a framed edition of the New York Times sports section from March 29, 1995. The previous night, Jordan - who had just come out of retirement 9 days earlier - pulled off his famous "Double Nickel" performance, in which he scored 55 points in a win at Madison Square Garden.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Most of the Times' front sports page was a huge photograph of Jordan taking a shot from the baseline. And in the lower left corner of the photo, there I am on press row, my face seemingly right next to Jordan's airborne Air Jordans.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here's another one I like from a post-practice press conference in Portland during the 1992 NBA Finals.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nxlTlNmpTQrVvARm4u8BZiXTWZJg9R1LDCHTLNV6mWX0Pcgu4KJojtCINghTfGunk_1Rm5yubNDUM28Oa04wAYTk-9v5koOQvbeEn7RAkDDXlO1SBCMQWpHAA10d5L0kwaRqS4VT6YA/s1600/Scan_20200519.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1155" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nxlTlNmpTQrVvARm4u8BZiXTWZJg9R1LDCHTLNV6mWX0Pcgu4KJojtCINghTfGunk_1Rm5yubNDUM28Oa04wAYTk-9v5koOQvbeEn7RAkDDXlO1SBCMQWpHAA10d5L0kwaRqS4VT6YA/s640/Scan_20200519.png" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">The Oregonian</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Jordan is looking up at me as he answers my question. As always, I have my 4-color Bic pen in my hand. I also still had a decent amount of hair, though my future lack thereof is pretty easy to foresee.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">+++</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">One of our family jokes was that if one of my kids' friends asked if their dad got to talk to Jordan, they were supposed to respond, <i><b>"No ... Michael Jordan gets to talk to my Dad."</b></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not sure either Ben or Katie actually ever used that line, but thinking about it still brings a smile to my face.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">+++</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Gotta run now and collect my 7-figure royalty check from ESPN ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">^</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-59107366103254014652020-02-18T10:14:00.002-05:002020-02-18T10:26:20.520-05:00Second stint as middle school coach: A fun first year, and hopefully the start of something big^<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Well, my first season in my second go-round as a middle school basketball coach is in the books.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFzFlJmfJZXveIAVm1Ymdb_7kjwohvXpWEeVIoIWFN75gR87gy3K7lsHDDej5u0M4_B-33Qq3VDN4aBa56QbqUFJkNJ2SXCGtfs9-B-6Dh4IveBo62zrfjfqO3tWww97FVwxQ_rzv7h0/s1600/IMG_9588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFzFlJmfJZXveIAVm1Ymdb_7kjwohvXpWEeVIoIWFN75gR87gy3K7lsHDDej5u0M4_B-33Qq3VDN4aBa56QbqUFJkNJ2SXCGtfs9-B-6Dh4IveBo62zrfjfqO3tWww97FVwxQ_rzv7h0/s400/IMG_9588.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our Community House Cavaliers finished 7-7, tied for 4th place in our 8-team conference. Given that 8 of our 11 players had little to no basketball experience coming into the season, I'm pretty darn proud of what those determined athletes were able to accomplish.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Having been part of championship teams, bad teams and every kind of team in between, I'm not gonna try to fool anybody: Being a champion is special. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Still, at this level, winning and losing really <i>is</i> secondary. My job at Community House is to give my players a fun experience, to grow their love of basketball, to help them improve, to show them tangible evidence that hard work is rewarded, to guide them in overcoming adversity, and other similarly high-minded concepts.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Each of our 11 players started at least one game, and most started multiple times. Every girl played in every game. I honestly believe that all 11 got better as the season progressed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'll take all that, and a 7-7 record. (Not that I have a choice - ha!)</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1hR1zwu3gTKRlNCrVfoMoL9UEoy6EZrpLP_sRKfAL2WzqVs2RzbcN9uR-GM4ZIe0drhtx55qQTehqziLHAkBu7dvEBLaKu8XhEvsXdZZBtJ-1VBjCDzNjR0mTbuz3h5F7HKOBQGZwic/s1600/CH+Cavs+-+at+AK+game.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="738" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1hR1zwu3gTKRlNCrVfoMoL9UEoy6EZrpLP_sRKfAL2WzqVs2RzbcN9uR-GM4ZIe0drhtx55qQTehqziLHAkBu7dvEBLaKu8XhEvsXdZZBtJ-1VBjCDzNjR0mTbuz3h5F7HKOBQGZwic/s400/CH+Cavs+-+at+AK+game.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a team outing to watch my former school, Ardrey Kell HS, play a game.<br />
Community House is the middle school that feeds into AK.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our season highlight was a 1-point victory at Crestdale in December, as we roared back after falling behind by 15 points. I haven't been part of many post-game locker-room scenes more joyous than that one was. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When we played the same team at home in January, we again fell way behind (this time by 14 points). Again we rallied, tying it with about a minute to go. But this time, Crestdale made plays down the stretch and we didn't, and we lost by 3. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As we got deeper into the season, it became obvious that our opponents included:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">2 deep, talented, tall, well-coached teams (Alexander Graham and South Charlotte) we simply couldn't beat; we were 0-4 in those games.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">3 less-talented teams (Southwest, Carmel and Quail Hollow) we couldn't have lost to unless we played really, really poorly; we were 6-0 in those games.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">1 team that was a little better than us (JM Robinson); unfortunately, we went 0-2 against them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">1 team that was our absolute equal (Crestdale); we split our two games with them.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We finished last week with a decisive, satisfying victory over Carmel. Two players were out: Meniya, who had been our leading scorer, missed several games with health issues; and Allie, an 8th-grader with little experience but a huge heart, had to leave school early that day because she wasn't feeling well.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In her text telling me she was sick, Allie expressed sadness at having to miss her final game. I relayed that to the girls during my pre-game talk with the team. I encouraged them to appreciate this last opportunity to play with their teammates, and to show it by giving maximum effort on the court.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We then went out and played one of our best quarters of the season, building a 16-4 lead thanks to 9 points from our point guard, Skyler; 4 points and great all-around play from our other 8th-grade standout, Jalayah; and tremendous energy, intensity and defense by the other 7 players.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wbrWrWT-jKg7TkcEGd0JvFlRJHQrn6oMlKwsiVu5R2UZStoJdYBTbaSZuDZQCOqxhNv65kDmkxFRePhrcwLTph000ZBetTXhC_CT7IUyLGmFKbcFSXQVHKgzAZGwZZabBqESbBnt6Fc/s1600/CH+pic+IB+play.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="564" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wbrWrWT-jKg7TkcEGd0JvFlRJHQrn6oMlKwsiVu5R2UZStoJdYBTbaSZuDZQCOqxhNv65kDmkxFRePhrcwLTph000ZBetTXhC_CT7IUyLGmFKbcFSXQVHKgzAZGwZZabBqESbBnt6Fc/s400/CH+pic+IB+play.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jalayah inbounds the ball to Skyler</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">It was especially nice to see our 7th-graders, who likely will form the nucleus of next year's team, demonstrate how much they have improved by playing well in this season's finale. Emma and Bryson each finished with a career-high 5 points; Emersyn and Avery helped set the tone with their aggressive defense and hustle; Janita battled bigger players to grab several rebounds.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It was a great way to finish the season.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The next night, Community House held its winter sports banquet. My team, the boys team and the cheerleading squad were honored, and the three coaches got to talk about our athletes.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIC-XxyjHOXiGrykTpE3gSS2jjYGdaKpUJ-yA_BC9yxvSKr4Dmbeflg-0B_1Q8d7gYIYfe1TzOazUUe9Vhi2X1WLjHNBI4z00vJYh0ZMqJAcQSLxx5qxaskOQY327lk_pEa680LBQQCSU/s1600/IMG_9797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIC-XxyjHOXiGrykTpE3gSS2jjYGdaKpUJ-yA_BC9yxvSKr4Dmbeflg-0B_1Q8d7gYIYfe1TzOazUUe9Vhi2X1WLjHNBI4z00vJYh0ZMqJAcQSLxx5qxaskOQY327lk_pEa680LBQQCSU/s400/IMG_9797.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I praised my girls for their work ethic, toughness and resiliency. I talked about some of the challenges we faced and how we dealt with them. I joked about us scoring twice into the wrong basket -- including on our very first play of the season. <i>That's some great coaching there!</i> I said something nice (and true) about each player. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I also gave out 3 awards: Coach's Award for Aggressiveness to Avery; Heart of a Champion Award, for going above and beyond expectations, to Emma; and MVP to Skyler.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRXPpEv7MTzsYmpQCmZCqnioqhw4m3T0nHdpfJsA_oIamWB8ZcxK5xF9Aok34LGbb6Z9Fi2kABJA1iZ4Xs9K3qT-xjQvh7kAwQLHpi0lcxSlamMJ3Ili2UCCElCZ9zenEXnqROfugiT0/s1600/CH+pic+from+banquet.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="361" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRXPpEv7MTzsYmpQCmZCqnioqhw4m3T0nHdpfJsA_oIamWB8ZcxK5xF9Aok34LGbb6Z9Fi2kABJA1iZ4Xs9K3qT-xjQvh7kAwQLHpi0lcxSlamMJ3Ili2UCCElCZ9zenEXnqROfugiT0/s400/CH+pic+from+banquet.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Skyler ended up being our leading scorer, with 110 points. She was followed by Meniya (101) and Jalayah (78). Those three -- the only players who had returned from the 2018-19 team -- accounted for 81.6% of our scoring. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Add in the three other 8th-graders (Chloe, Alyssa and Allie), and it means we have to replace 87% of our scoring. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Eighty-seven percent!!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I told the girls, especially the 7th-graders, that it was time for them to do some serious recruiting. They need to talk up how much fun they had being part of the Cavs; they need to convince athletic 7th-graders and 6th-graders to go out for the team next season. I specifically encouraged them to point out how much playing time -- and how many shots -- will be available.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My single biggest surprise this season actually happened before we got started: Even though Community House is one of the largest middle schools in North Carolina, with about 600 girls in 7th and 8th grades, fewer than 20 tried out for our team. (By comparison, more than 120 tried out for the boys team.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It wasn't what I expected after leaving Ardrey Kell High, where I had been an assistant for two seasons following my first 4-year stint as a middle school coach.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I've since been told that the CH girls program has been down for a few years -- and that we're trying to change the culture to make it a more fun and rewarding experience.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Hopefully, this season will have been a major step in that direction.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">+++</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and of course, I can't wrap up a post of <i>The Baldest Truth</i> without putting up a pic of Jack and Logan, my terrific (and terrifically cute) grand-twins.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGL9MLBs7Zn1EO_05h58nbpY24JnURgo0GOdwRWcON_n7pmvJh8gtvro3o0_5wqXJIuWbkG0PDB0pu0E3_Qulx-b_ENFQ_8CMg6fTu4xxNqN3P58UKdQPPLYoy-eV9Cog-Ls5y2G8BJA/s1600/lojack+6+months.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="532" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGL9MLBs7Zn1EO_05h58nbpY24JnURgo0GOdwRWcON_n7pmvJh8gtvro3o0_5wqXJIuWbkG0PDB0pu0E3_Qulx-b_ENFQ_8CMg6fTu4xxNqN3P58UKdQPPLYoy-eV9Cog-Ls5y2G8BJA/s400/lojack+6+months.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Happy, 6 Month Birthday, LoJack!</span></div>
^<br />
<br />Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-29743383467559997692020-02-09T10:52:00.000-05:002020-02-09T10:52:50.240-05:00Mike's Oscar Picks: Everybody else takes a whack, so why not me? <span style="font-size: large;">^</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I haven't seen <i>Little Women</i>, and I won't get a chance to see it today before the Oscars telecast. So as I look at the nominees for Best Picture, 8 out of 9 will have to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I also haven't seen several of the films featuring actresses/actors who were nominated for individual awards, though I do look forward to watching them as they become available on Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Showtime and the like.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So having delivered that disclaimer, here are my Oscar picks ...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Actress</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It sounds like Renee Zellweger is a shoo-in for her portrayal of Judy Garland in <i>Judy</i>, and I definitely want to see that film. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The only nominated actress whose movie I saw was Scarlett Johansson's <i>Marriage Story</i>. She was good, but I can hardly say it was a groundbreaking performance. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I was disappointed that Ana de Armas, the young actress who shined in the underrated <i>Knives Out</i>, didn't get nominated.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Actor</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I saw three of the five films in which an actor was nominated: <i>Joker</i> (Joaquin Phoenix), <i>Marriage Story</i> (Adam Driver), and <i>Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood</i> (Leonardo DiCaprio). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Each was outstanding, but Phoenix, always a powerful force whenever he's on screen, was never better. He is expected to win, and I'm not surprised.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam Sandler was surprisingly good in <i>Uncut Gems</i> and George McKay great in <i>1917</i>. Also, Roman Griffin Davis dominated nearly every scene as the 10-year-old protagonist in <i>Jojo Rabbit. </i>Each was snubbed, but I obviously realize that everybody can't get nominated.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Supporting Actress</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I saw two of the five films with actresses in this category: <i>Marriage Story</i> (Laura Dern) and <i>Jojo Rabbit</i> (Scarlett Johansson).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The belief is that Dern will win here and I have no problem with that. It was a perfect role for her, and she clearly enjoyed doing it. Johansson also was very good.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I thought Julia Fox, making her acting debut as Sandler's love interest in <i>Uncut Gem</i>s, might get nominated but she didn't.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Supporting Actor</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My would-be favorite for this category wasn't nominated: Daniel Craig as the brilliant but quirky detective in <i>Knives Out</i>. Nobody will ever convince me that he wasn't significantly better than the two guys nominated from <i>The Irishman</i>: the OK Al Pacino and the underwhelming Joe Pesci.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I really liked Brad Pitt in <i>Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood</i> (and he also was very good in, though not nominated for, <i>Ford v Ferrari</i>), so I'll be rooting for him. Based on what I've read, he has a decent shot at the trophy.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Best Picture</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As I said, I didn't see <i>Little Women</i>. Two films I did see that I very much liked but weren't nominated: <i>Knives Out</i> and <i>Uncut Gems</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I preferred the latter two to <i>The Irishman</i>. I think I could have edited an hour out of it, I wasn't blown away by either the story or the acting, and if it had been directed by anybody other than Scorcese it probably wouldn't have been nominated. It was <i>Goodfellas Lite</i> - all of the blood, none of the fun.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The other Netflix nominee, <i>Marriage Story</i>, felt like a good made-for-TV movie. Like <i>Ford v Ferrari</i>, I liked it but it didn't seem Oscar-worthy. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood</i> was a good Quentin Tarantino flick ... but not a great one in my estimation. It ranks well behind <i>Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown</i> and <i>Django Unchained.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Joaquin Phoenix was so good in <i>Joker</i> that he personally elevated the film, and at the time I saw it I thought it was the best 2019 movie I had seen. It since has been surpassed by a few others in my mind, but I wouldn't be disappointed if it does get picked.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The South Korean black comedy <i>Parasite</i> is a wonderful and sneaky-deep film that is hilarious in parts, grisly in others, and socially relevant throughout. Several of the actors could have been nominated (but weren't). I didn't see it until yesterday - the day before the Oscars - but I can see why it has gotten so much buzz.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Jojo Rabbit</i> was my personal favorite of 2019 - the one I enjoyed most during my time in the theater. I don't think it has a prayer of winning, but it was an absolute delight from beginning to end. If you haven't seen it, do.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Although I expected World War I drama <i>1917</i> to be very good because it had gotten so much positive press before I finally got around to seeing it, it actually surpassed my expectations. One thing I went in thinking was, "Who needs another war movie?" As it turns out, I did! <i>1917</i> was not just another war movie. There actually was much less blood and guts than in most of them, the plot and premise were great, it was beautifully filmed, and the performances were superb throughout. Bravo to Sam Mendes for creating a borderline masterpiece. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So while I might give <i>Jojo Rabbit</i> the "Mikey," <i>1917</i> was my fave of all the films that actually have a chance to win.</span><br />
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Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-2695418726648945152020-01-07T11:32:00.003-05:002020-01-07T11:32:45.564-05:00Hello, 2020! ... Here's hoping the rest of the New Year can live up to my first week<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">^</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Just got back from a great (but too short!) trip to Chicago and Milwaukee.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">So much fun with our adorable grand-twins Logan and Jack (aka "LoJack"), and of course their parents Ben and Sammi.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMBIjfs9Xc94U26mKRJuz9j9J7eJN3Cg8e7kAPW0kXx5LeRcQWCA-JS1i1yG0Eu3Jqom5VNTB4BgrZgjUiTjqecPkH_QfvKoFR5QiVGp_AhIcq1KnJ-K9HnB5iS40q91xejcfjQCQDM0/s1600/FullSizeR_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1130" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMBIjfs9Xc94U26mKRJuz9j9J7eJN3Cg8e7kAPW0kXx5LeRcQWCA-JS1i1yG0Eu3Jqom5VNTB4BgrZgjUiTjqecPkH_QfvKoFR5QiVGp_AhIcq1KnJ-K9HnB5iS40q91xejcfjQCQDM0/s640/FullSizeR_03.jpg" width="451" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LoJack loves Grandma! (And vice versa!)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRb15ikRhKqEuWxfwrLpGi-bg-ibIvFSwNWBKZUUMxgC_OAbSHhg6wcGYoiao0O41gQFJpyljxCB7ouNWWkzOWcM5X1bwiO-mCQAxY5DYvASoLTv9zThajMVOqNZ2OW6YExuAFzKXvR7o/s1600/IMG_2216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRb15ikRhKqEuWxfwrLpGi-bg-ibIvFSwNWBKZUUMxgC_OAbSHhg6wcGYoiao0O41gQFJpyljxCB7ouNWWkzOWcM5X1bwiO-mCQAxY5DYvASoLTv9zThajMVOqNZ2OW6YExuAFzKXvR7o/s1600/IMG_2216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDgNGeIRgVukPp6Ys2nFjuNtKIRDBAHTaJWSZwWwcP5AucC2tp1pGVeLoKsw1XjK7y2udpJ5XeglUIGCiJFBY-OIS65H57zYsWLDdm_99JjVdwlklX6GSKqOBRYYOXNmjvLNoWFR6Dwg/s1600/IMG_20200103_181400070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDgNGeIRgVukPp6Ys2nFjuNtKIRDBAHTaJWSZwWwcP5AucC2tp1pGVeLoKsw1XjK7y2udpJ5XeglUIGCiJFBY-OIS65H57zYsWLDdm_99JjVdwlklX6GSKqOBRYYOXNmjvLNoWFR6Dwg/s400/IMG_20200103_181400070.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandpa hangin' with da boyz<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As they close in on their 5-month birthdays, the boys have gotten so big. Fun little personalities. A lot of smiling, as Logan demonstrates ...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fIBxkgDuWgVyaiIrU6bb5KEd7fBI3ZMpeUrLdgV1wV7GS7mFe_YqJOvY3BQF0rScck60wbaL_zxmTN_m0_fft66b-dnH1s6SUQLv4beJQY06Gb1Sv0suM-a3PFs5Pcw4qARGkl_R8zs/s1600/IMG_0578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fIBxkgDuWgVyaiIrU6bb5KEd7fBI3ZMpeUrLdgV1wV7GS7mFe_YqJOvY3BQF0rScck60wbaL_zxmTN_m0_fft66b-dnH1s6SUQLv4beJQY06Gb1Sv0suM-a3PFs5Pcw4qARGkl_R8zs/s400/IMG_0578.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The boys even are showing an affinity for TV (uh-oh).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvT1Aq1dFQoWlqf7xdZUSVq6r9si7b9orlvO0PTSCXZYvSgow3Jv6_TNAxlvsH8rMC1jtVx7KOQbhKx0CvTTLCET7vSN9oiKssBWBfqwvmU1-uPE2-Ris3QCa0M0RkVjzTa5io0qflbg/s1600/IMG_0590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvT1Aq1dFQoWlqf7xdZUSVq6r9si7b9orlvO0PTSCXZYvSgow3Jv6_TNAxlvsH8rMC1jtVx7KOQbhKx0CvTTLCET7vSN9oiKssBWBfqwvmU1-uPE2-Ris3QCa0M0RkVjzTa5io0qflbg/s400/IMG_0590.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Saturday was a darn near perfect day ...</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Drove up from Chicago to Milwaukee with Robbie, Ben and Mickey (Ben's father-in-law) for the Marquette-Villanova game.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Found a free parking spot on the street within 3 blocks of the arena. I loves me some free parking!</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Met Marquette buddies Tom and Jim at a local establishment before the game to share some great memories and laughs. Also shared some beverages, which in my case were New Glarus Moon Man and Spotted Cow.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Watched our Warriors play very well in defeating the No. 10 team in the country.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">No trip to Milwaukee is complete without a dash to Leon's for amazing butter pecan frozen custard.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Went to Ben's in-laws' place in the northern burbs to eat deep-dish pizza and to spend a few hours with family: Ben, Sammi, Mickey, his wife Linda, Sammi's sister Lauren, various dogs ... and, of course, the stars of the show, Logan and Jack.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Drove back to my son's place to tuck in LoJack.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Watched the end of the Patriots' playoff loss to Tennessee. Bye-bye Brady!</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Hard to beat that!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0GWV23Tr-56FVdFLWUVaaMfQoO1S0HRcPHKT24dxWiZ8195Z51i8WWYIE5Ch9zX6jsa75TSBgO7keTqKdcFzaQeoujxekrP0wuPED39hlCwro0PyiNVXV_C_iYStcjopDIz6yHIxb-8/s1600/IMG_2222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0GWV23Tr-56FVdFLWUVaaMfQoO1S0HRcPHKT24dxWiZ8195Z51i8WWYIE5Ch9zX6jsa75TSBgO7keTqKdcFzaQeoujxekrP0wuPED39hlCwro0PyiNVXV_C_iYStcjopDIz6yHIxb-8/s400/IMG_2222.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob took this artsy-fartsy photo of 3 old farts:<br />Tom, Mike and Jim</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7xb2yHAAjLtM8CPbJrP4ABhoFdyxYjLCFX_eohagAcak6MP4I3gF10KAFa8JRfzBf44IPtdZTzx2i2U7uCIPNYD5lSPZB8Ehsxlnf0f5qnCxpJzviHxPUooK7VCikEmxCk_6EZW8eNQ/s1600/IMG_20200104_124512743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7xb2yHAAjLtM8CPbJrP4ABhoFdyxYjLCFX_eohagAcak6MP4I3gF10KAFa8JRfzBf44IPtdZTzx2i2U7uCIPNYD5lSPZB8Ehsxlnf0f5qnCxpJzviHxPUooK7VCikEmxCk_6EZW8eNQ/s400/IMG_20200104_124512743.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mickey, Ben, Rob and Mike up in the Fiserv Forum nosebleed section</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmSkSO-TPno4ky7f3XBoPVB48NvhDkJ5mZ0UBnWquBKcBA5p7zoIshIXFzVsYd4on0aKwwotvFUHEl727GpUwRty127NPSbEYqQmu9HNFp04AiJFLbLMWaebhw9TAVhSJJPda7veCR7o/s1600/markus.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="523" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmSkSO-TPno4ky7f3XBoPVB48NvhDkJ5mZ0UBnWquBKcBA5p7zoIshIXFzVsYd4on0aKwwotvFUHEl727GpUwRty127NPSbEYqQmu9HNFp04AiJFLbLMWaebhw9TAVhSJJPda7veCR7o/s400/markus.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marquette's All-American guard, Markus Howard,<br />takes it right into the teeth of Villanova's defense<br />(Photo credit: gomarquette.com)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDzbLzk2WSR1TuvSfVcm0AGN2Oy9Q-n2Sgwj-qFLSSgdCx32iyESXfUD0zD5xbG1FnPeTq44vKhYQ5NLhlMDNyslcL8MUjuJmgwgvnirfFGCtaJVcG00PS2GiBblLU79F5WwsZT5pa5c/s1600/IMG_4558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCDzbLzk2WSR1TuvSfVcm0AGN2Oy9Q-n2Sgwj-qFLSSgdCx32iyESXfUD0zD5xbG1FnPeTq44vKhYQ5NLhlMDNyslcL8MUjuJmgwgvnirfFGCtaJVcG00PS2GiBblLU79F5WwsZT5pa5c/s400/IMG_4558.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leon's butter pecan ... The best treat in the entire world!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Naturally, we were sad to say goodbye on Sunday. And when we got home, we had a ton of work staring at us, as we just had both bathrooms renovated and the entire downstairs painted. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On Monday, it was back to practice with my Community House Cavs, who just returned from winter break. We'll take a 3-2 record into our first post-break game on Thursday, Jan. 9.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope everybody had as great a start to the New Year as I did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and here's lookin' at you, kid!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">^</span></div>
Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-24951481585766289492019-12-20T09:46:00.000-05:002019-12-20T09:46:38.629-05:00My Cavs: Good, with a shot at being Very Good<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">^</span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't want to leave folks hanging, so here's a quick update on my Community House Cavs ...</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">We split our games this week.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fell behind early against our biggest rival, JM Robinson, rallied within 2 after three quarters, but ran out of gas and lost at the end. We got sloppy with the ball when we could least afford it, and also gave up two offensive-rebound putbacks on consecutive possessions. I'm already looking forward to the rematch next month!</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last night, we played well in the first half, and a half-court shot at the buzzer by our point guard </span><b style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skyler</b><span style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"> gave us a 13-point lead. Her reaction was precious -- an absolutely amazed look on her face, arms raised as she ran back toward the bench, and she kept shouting, "I made it! I made it!" It was as if we had won the WNBA title.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">But despite my stern reminder that we had come back from a bigger deficit just last week against Crestdale, we got a little full of ourselves thinking the game was over. The opponent, Southwest, didn't get that memo. They played harder and better than we did, and we turned the ball over several times as they pressured us a little. Just like that, we were up by only 2.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thankfully, led by our experienced 8th-graders Skyler, </span><b style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meniya</b><span style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><b style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jalayah</b><span style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">, we took care of business in the 4th quarter and pulled away to win by 11. Meniya, whose pursuit of the basketball is relentless, finished with 20 points, the highest total by any Cav this season. I liked the defensive effort and hustle we got from our 7th-graders: </span><b style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma, Emersyn, Avery </b><span style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><b style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bryson</b><span style="color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">So we take a 3-2 record into the break. Coulda been 4-1 if we hadn't run out of gas against JMR. But coulda been 2-3 if we didn't rally to win at Crestdale or even 1-4 if we also hadn't figured things out last night.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="be1ct-0-0" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yep, 3-2 is just about where we should be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are a good team, with the potential to be very good. We'll see if the girls (and their coach) are willing and able to make that jump in January.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Most importantly, it's a good group of kids, and a lot of interesting personalities. Very different from most of the girls I coached at my previous middle-school stop.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">T</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;">hey do play hard, they want to get better, they want to compete. It's fun being their coach, and I'm excited about the 9 games on our schedule after break.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">^</span></span></div>
Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-48696049852584320262019-12-14T07:14:00.001-05:002019-12-14T07:20:30.941-05:00A New Assignment For Coach Nadel<span style="font-size: large;">^</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A couple of months ago, I received this text message from my basketball coach at Ardrey Kell High, Jeff Buseick:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Community House Middle School is looking for a girls coach. Do you know anyone that would be interested/good?</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">Community House is one of AK's feeder schools, and many of the best players I had the privilege of assistant-coaching during my two years at AK came from there. So it certainly was in Coach B's interest to get this filled with somebody he could trust.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I was thinking of my many coaching colleagues, and even called one to see if she knew anybody who might want to do it. And then I started thinking ...</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Hmmm. I loved coaching that age group during my four wonderful years at Scholars Academy. And I want to be a head coach again. And I don't think I want to be a high school head coach because of the time commitment, especially with all the visits we have to make to our new grand-twins. ... I don't know about the "good" part, but darn right I'm interested!</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">I told Coach that and he thought it was a great idea. He sent out an email of recommendation, I set up an interview with the Community House AD for the next day, and the offer was waiting for me in my email inbox by the time I got home from the interview.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So I'm a middle school basketball coach again. This conference is a considerable step up from the one that housed Scholars Academy, so I knew it would be a challenge -- but a fun one.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Even though Community House is one of the largest middle schools in North Carolina, with nearly 1,800 students in grades 6-8, not all that many girls showed up for tryouts. (Only 7th and 8th graders are eligible to play.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Our Cavaliers ended up with an 11-player roster that included 3 girls who were on last season's team (Jalayah, Meniya, Skyler) and 8 of various experience levels -- from some rec ball to having barely ever played (Alyssa, Avery, Emersyn, Emma, Chloe, Allie, Janita, Bryson).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our season started last week and we were crushed in our opener by South Charlotte MS, whose outstanding point guard will almost certainly be a varsity starter in high school a year from now. We tried man, zone and box-and-1, and we never could corral her. Offensively, we committed too many turnovers and missed too many layups. The Cavs simply were out-played and out-coached. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and the first points of my second go-round as a middle school coach were scored in the opponent's basket after some confusion following the jump ball. Yep, we made the layup ... and we were down 2-0.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thankfully, one of the great things about sports is that you get a chance to play again soon. This past Monday, Dec. 9, we went to Quail Hollow MS and rolled to victory. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our energetic 4, Meniya, dominated defensively and on the boards; our do-everything wing, Jalayah, smoothly navigated around defenders, scoring and setting up teammates; our point guard, Skyler, ran the offense efficiently; everybody contributed; and 8 of our 11 players scored. It was rewarding to see the girls execute the things we had been working on in practice.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The boys coach snapped this photo of me in my CHMS polo during the Quail Hollow game. (My wife was like, <i>"What? He couldn't have gotten any of the team in the photo? You look like some random bald guy standing in a gym."</i>)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmRC-E2-zA_W0SdJM4D1QdLywEMbJ5GFdGnDwAt4l-h2HceV8T0fh_ka-dc-Er3TIWOW_dKfuHkVH24ZHY7g7z9fcwplaGHZ9QgDTfm-gRaalDTJ2zB3dCx2JVgVF_ADQt2l9zGmwyKs/s1600/8528519188513617744.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmRC-E2-zA_W0SdJM4D1QdLywEMbJ5GFdGnDwAt4l-h2HceV8T0fh_ka-dc-Er3TIWOW_dKfuHkVH24ZHY7g7z9fcwplaGHZ9QgDTfm-gRaalDTJ2zB3dCx2JVgVF_ADQt2l9zGmwyKs/s320/8528519188513617744.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Then came Thursday, Dec. 12. We went to Crestdale MS and fell behind 20-5 midway through the second quarter. Skyler had 3 fouls. We couldn't make a shot. We were missing defensive assignments, leading to numerous layups by our opponent. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Then a little life ... we finished the half with an 8-0 run that included Meniya's 3-pointer and much better defense. Down only 20-13, I told them at halftime that we were right in the game but needed to turn up our defensive intensity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I started Meniya and Skyler in the second half even though each had 3 fouls. We outscored Crestdale 11-6 in the quarter to make it 26-24. It was a game now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We finally caught them midway through the fourth quarter ... but both Meniya and Jalayah fouled out. Our role players, who had done well all game, really stepped up. Emersyn made a huge 17-footer, Chloe hit a free throw for our final point, and Emma grabbed the clinching rebound. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Community House 35, Crestdale 34</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our bench exploded with excitement and I pumped my fist. After the handshake line, the girls went to the locker room to wait for me. I gave them a minute to let it sink in and then I burst through the door, clapping. The girls followed suit, clapping and hootin' and hollerin'. It was an incredible scene of exuberance that lasted a couple of minutes. You gotta love youth sports!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I told the girls how amazing that was: down 20-5 to a good team but battling back, never quitting, showing heart, showing skill, a complete team victory with so many contributing. I told them how proud I was of them, and that wasn't just coach-speak.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I left the locker room completely energized. It doesn't matter what level it is -- from Biddy Ball all the way to the WNBA or NBA -- a comeback like that feels awesome. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Hey, here's an interesting aside</u> ...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I got back to the bench to collect my things before the boys game would start, and the refs were talking to the scorer's table. It seemed the final score on the board (36-35) didn't match the one in the official book, which is always kept by the home team. I looked at the book my manager kept and noted the discrepancy: We still won, but it was actually 35-34. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The refs signed off on it, and it was all good ... but can you imagine if they had determined that the game was tied, or that we had lost? I don't know what they would have done ... and I'm glad I didn't have to find out!!!!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Look, winning is not my main mission in this assignment. I want to give these kids a great basketball experience, help them improve as players, maybe even teach a life lesson or two along the way. I play every girl in every game -- all have made the commitment and all work hard in practice; they all deserve to play. I already have started 9 of our 11 players, and the other 2 will get a start soon.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Nevertheless, the scoreboard does have numbers on it, and at the end of the game one team's number will be at least 1 point higher than the other team's. So we might as well endeavor to be the team with the higher number, right?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">^</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">^</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I know I hadn't posted on <i>The Baldest Truth</i> in several months. A lot going on. And when I had posted, it was all about <i>"LoJack"</i> -- my beautiful grand-twins, Logan and Jack.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I figure I shouldn't hit the button on this without showing a few of the latest pix of these 4-month-old wonderboys.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlIAqriTip7cV8RnXhO4LyNVKcud75d1lEK6TgKJZUtAuciElKawshqslYpm2gmqMciRqtd0rlbYm9QR9KwK2rN_HkAsqVMvGbgEDjmVNSZ5LMgIRV2N7ea_slDn55iSvQnBJAR59QE8/s1600/IMG_0487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1172" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlIAqriTip7cV8RnXhO4LyNVKcud75d1lEK6TgKJZUtAuciElKawshqslYpm2gmqMciRqtd0rlbYm9QR9KwK2rN_HkAsqVMvGbgEDjmVNSZ5LMgIRV2N7ea_slDn55iSvQnBJAR59QE8/s320/IMG_0487.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Jack</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y-NlGbSl8n2BexgUPQ6NmO9ArzC5HTCa2myPpArxndmFehPubYllaxkimxj0mRuKA2CUEF9ouE0npgTmRHIDly-xVqkh_cBINjAc70sxn2M-T7n-RPLQMlbCVl5t6Am6nTV3oKrso1k/s1600/IMG_0525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1273" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Y-NlGbSl8n2BexgUPQ6NmO9ArzC5HTCa2myPpArxndmFehPubYllaxkimxj0mRuKA2CUEF9ouE0npgTmRHIDly-xVqkh_cBINjAc70sxn2M-T7n-RPLQMlbCVl5t6Am6nTV3oKrso1k/s320/IMG_0525.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laughing Logan</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJO1o1L9hzaZsMtI6OpC6sHKfrXKASpY28xUtUO-bcHVqXTceR0GTVS0E_sRbxQ-bkMnB_yKaoiy1Z5mRGIsrWvHop0ID950nUNSExsTVzzM-eMsSAKclsuh2PX4YmY2xHPGjXC-JUOcM/s1600/IMG_0519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="1600" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJO1o1L9hzaZsMtI6OpC6sHKfrXKASpY28xUtUO-bcHVqXTceR0GTVS0E_sRbxQ-bkMnB_yKaoiy1Z5mRGIsrWvHop0ID950nUNSExsTVzzM-eMsSAKclsuh2PX4YmY2xHPGjXC-JUOcM/s400/IMG_0519.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LoJack at 4 months</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;">Life is good, folks!!</span></div>
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Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-39722073403033135732019-09-04T12:49:00.001-04:002019-09-04T12:49:10.073-04:00Lovin' On LoJack Again^<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Just got home from a Labor Day weekend trip to Chicago -- our second visit there since our grandsons <b>Jack and Logan</b> were born August 9.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCplEf3FVOnrVTk6wxEorYG-VDuB8Xqo_NXDCMfd4vWuEhF1U8dnF-Br4mAczXm2la-mgNaAx0xoR1I1q1HelK6FgvcGUIcur2nFAvEbighgSBTy-rQoWP1oziTbPUaMrOCsn2eWWZrIc/s1600/IMG_20190903_091143_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCplEf3FVOnrVTk6wxEorYG-VDuB8Xqo_NXDCMfd4vWuEhF1U8dnF-Br4mAczXm2la-mgNaAx0xoR1I1q1HelK6FgvcGUIcur2nFAvEbighgSBTy-rQoWP1oziTbPUaMrOCsn2eWWZrIc/s400/IMG_20190903_091143_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robbie and I can't get enough of Jack (left) and Logan!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The boys, who were born <a href="http://thebaldesttruth.blogspot.com/2019/08/hey-world-meet-jack-logan-nadel.html" target="_blank">a few weeks early</a>, have grown so much. Logan, who went home from the hospital first, is now topping 7 pounds; Jack, who was <a href="http://thebaldesttruth.blogspot.com/2019/08/lojack-together-again.html" target="_blank">reunited</a> with his younger (by about 20 seconds) brother on August 25 after he started eating better, is well over 5 pounds.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTYmoUj4bM7wS5vWQ7UKc-Qrm4F54uHfX2CPouKwEYSMXaxGe0nRUuRRG-cdqV9zHiLfUj7t0s7xbb6MAJAb9GSxFaELiQXEjf7sDQAVaqfIGABcRGKRT0v59zUFKlUOppgjsSlt7EyA/s1600/IMG_0291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="1600" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTYmoUj4bM7wS5vWQ7UKc-Qrm4F54uHfX2CPouKwEYSMXaxGe0nRUuRRG-cdqV9zHiLfUj7t0s7xbb6MAJAb9GSxFaELiQXEjf7sDQAVaqfIGABcRGKRT0v59zUFKlUOppgjsSlt7EyA/s400/IMG_0291.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack (left) and Logan ... chillin' at home.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Robbie and I again stayed with Sammi's wonderful parents, Linda and Mickey Lipkin. In addition to giving us great conversation and fantastic room and board, they put on a heck of a family BBQ on Sunday. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Chicago-style hot dogs, various accompaniments, cold beer, and an afternoon of fun with "LoJack." What could be better?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgji1Bfb2o4z0Pxd8MAa4BIcpy6ZlGZ_-MedgJKcypRw69nENdKQS9BDgfEALyaDP5rDVBVi0YRWfKhJI7skKmAycDvp7BNJDBwqbPHTiz_ZkMNwN3yQcBRUJvgEJSsKKOzwHq_V_43VO0/s1600/IMG_20190901_152325856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgji1Bfb2o4z0Pxd8MAa4BIcpy6ZlGZ_-MedgJKcypRw69nENdKQS9BDgfEALyaDP5rDVBVi0YRWfKhJI7skKmAycDvp7BNJDBwqbPHTiz_ZkMNwN3yQcBRUJvgEJSsKKOzwHq_V_43VO0/s400/IMG_20190901_152325856.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandmas Robbie and Linda love their little snuggle bunnies.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One other thing that made this trip to Chicago more special was that Aunt Katie flew in from Seattle and met her nephews for the first time.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqPtex_7XYx_o_4iJDWyJmjhfraL5SkPFw_VECaQJe0fo2qeMX1nirxMQy3YANo9B7jJnWfHiioj1r4BSxfAcrnD2qzSUWF8D8Q16ql29aXgsUuC9HQ8WUoQoHOxfRjiQsxkYppFx5p4/s1600/LoJack+and+KTQ.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="557" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqPtex_7XYx_o_4iJDWyJmjhfraL5SkPFw_VECaQJe0fo2qeMX1nirxMQy3YANo9B7jJnWfHiioj1r4BSxfAcrnD2qzSUWF8D8Q16ql29aXgsUuC9HQ8WUoQoHOxfRjiQsxkYppFx5p4/s400/LoJack+and+KTQ.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aunt Katie has her hands full with LoJack!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On Monday, our forever friends Darcia and Mike Brundidge stopped by Ben and Sammi's apartment for a meet and greet.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Darcia took turns holding Logan and Jack ... and each seemed so content in her arms that we called her "The Baby Whisperer."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5p6O8x4WpBBcpo_fV-Ur8Wm2tmWsMD7k2BKo_RDuM7Dl3D8zLKk6m1SlG4zcc7MYUK-l7JGA-ikJz_ZCo9dxxcuLJlwgNhA4LDJhha3x1h1qUrizE7vvHb0TygAL8QgB5_9B8u4hwSA/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5p6O8x4WpBBcpo_fV-Ur8Wm2tmWsMD7k2BKo_RDuM7Dl3D8zLKk6m1SlG4zcc7MYUK-l7JGA-ikJz_ZCo9dxxcuLJlwgNhA4LDJhha3x1h1qUrizE7vvHb0TygAL8QgB5_9B8u4hwSA/s400/image.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ben and Sammi could have used The Baby Whisperer the night before, as the boys had what was described as their most restless night. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ben said that whenever he would put Logan down to sleep, Jack would get going; and whenever he would finally calm Jack down and return him to his crib, Logan would start.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to fun with twins!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ17AQHx4ZlQTF2RCLbiByVFRDe6EHiGbuFRb_qQTZPohpupxLDErYhyphenhyphenfwwqt3SVhFNtrb3RbEUiTN4xzUybOcykJ6WVMNfVNBgp2nBFWP-pYRfi9BbuipQlguzfl4nx1W6p7C72-auRU/s1600/image+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ17AQHx4ZlQTF2RCLbiByVFRDe6EHiGbuFRb_qQTZPohpupxLDErYhyphenhyphenfwwqt3SVhFNtrb3RbEUiTN4xzUybOcykJ6WVMNfVNBgp2nBFWP-pYRfi9BbuipQlguzfl4nx1W6p7C72-auRU/s400/image+%25281%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this Logan whispering his diabolical plan<br />to keep Mommy and Daddy awake?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All in all, though, life with LoJack has been great, and Robbie and I are very proud of how patient, loving and gentle a father Ben is.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0z3Oa_AVgWRe_AFEDNjgWIQP1mC_-1WPBmuIlNRcAfMr3pywFb1Hlf0b8jgnS5FM8oxZLLbHKCv6IPozMibLurMiv7Ad-LOpPUhpnvCJBmnbbc2Hy_CxNbmV94LKaCYs-M34tpsYZ7Q/s1600/IMG_0270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0z3Oa_AVgWRe_AFEDNjgWIQP1mC_-1WPBmuIlNRcAfMr3pywFb1Hlf0b8jgnS5FM8oxZLLbHKCv6IPozMibLurMiv7Ad-LOpPUhpnvCJBmnbbc2Hy_CxNbmV94LKaCYs-M34tpsYZ7Q/s400/IMG_0270.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It wasn't easy leaving our grandsons again -- and it got even more difficult after we said goodbye, as our flight was canceled due to storms elsewhere. What was supposed to be an easy, 2-hour, non-stop trip ended up being a nearly 8-hour excursion that took us to Columbus and Baltimore before we finally got back to Charlotte.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Still, it was all worth it, and we can't wait to get back soon to see Jack, Logan, Sammi, Ben and the rest of the Chicago crew.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">^</span>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-81314415665737076622019-08-27T09:09:00.001-04:002019-08-27T09:12:29.221-04:00The Hypocrite In Chief Profits On Taxpayers' Backs -- And His Sycophants Cheer Him On<span style="font-size: large;">^</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Every time <b>Donald Trump</b> takes a vacation at one of his resorts, it is a major conflict of interest. He brings along hundreds of staffers, and makes them all pay rack rates for lodging and food -- all of which goes right into his pocket.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The self-proclaimed Chosen One now is proposing that his Miami resort be used as the site of next year's G7 summit. If that's where it ends up, and thousands of dignitaries and media and security personnel stay there, it will give him a windfall that will be unprecedented in the history of American politics.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Even his cheerleaders at Fox News say that their hero's own advisers have pointed out the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-doral-g-7" target="_blank">conflict of interest</a>:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><b><i>Trump has apparently been pushing for months to have his Doral resort host the 2020 G-7 meeting, but his advisers have cautioned against it amid concerns about the ethics of the president personally profiting off an official government event.</i></b></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It would be an overt, in-your-face cash grab, all at the expense of you, me and every other U.S. taxpayer, with all the profits going right into his pocket. He will laugh at the gullibility of the American public.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Liar In Chief's easily conned sheeple talk up his willingness to take no salary. What a crock. Nothing more than a campaign stunt. He makes more than a year's worth of salary every time he hosts an official event at one of his golf resorts -- and it's all on the American taxpayers' dime.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">President Obama played golf and it was a big issue for some of his critics -- especially Trump, who endlessly ripped him for it. Of course, the Hypocrite In Chief plays more golf than Obama or any other president ever did ... and every time he does, he makes a profit at taxpayer expense.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Can you imagine what Hannity, Ingraham, Limbaugh and the intellectuals at Fox & Friends would have said had Obama personally profited from his golf vacations?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Where are all the small-government types to decry this blatant, corrupt cash grab?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Hey ... I can't write only about the grandkids, you know!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">^</span>Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.com0