Hey ... Remember Me?

 Well ... it's been more than a year since I've posted here. Why? 

1. I've been busy living my life.

2. When I've done any public writing, I've done so professionally (in other words, for $$$$).

3. I'm retired and lazy.

I think that about covers it.

Anyhoo, I'm not gonna make any New Year's resolution about posting daily or weekly or monthly (or even annually) to The Baldest Truth. All I'll say is, "We'll see."

But I'm here now, so here goes ...

The Bald Truth

A lot has gone on with my family since I last posted the day before Thanksgiving 2023.

The main happening of note: Robbie and I sold our home in Matthews, NC, and moved to Seattle to be near Katie and her family, who re-re-located to Seattle in August. (The grandkids had spent two years in Charlotte, reeling us in with their damn cuteness.)

Concluding a 6-week drive that included stops to visit friends and family in Wilmington, Hilton Head, Philadelphia, Easton, Detroit, Chicago, Middle Of Nowhere Wisconsin and Jackson Hole, we arrived in Seattle in mid-October. 

We've been living in a furnished rental while we look for our next home. It's been a humbling and somewhat intimidating experience, given the low inventory and the insanely high prices - basic starter homes that need work run $1 million plus. We are open to renting a nice place for a couple/few years, and we might end up doing just that.

I do miss a lot about Charlotte. I miss going to the Beer Temple every Thursday to get together with Gary, Drew, Scott, Tom and whoever else might join our group in any given week. I miss the monthly wild-card-filled poker nights that Bruce ran, and Jake's more serious Hold 'Em games. We miss our best Charlotte "couple friends," Karen and Tom. And of course I miss the weather - it's gray and rainy in Seattle just about every freakin' day. (But I do know from experience that the summers here will be spectacular, so less than 6 gloomy months to go!)

Life is filled with adventures big and small, and I've always felt that change is healthy. We didn't know a soul in Madison when we moved there as newlyweds, nor did we know anybody when we moved to Minneapolis after I got my first full-time sportswriting gig. We had some people in Chicago when we moved there, but we didn't have all that much opportunity to get together with them because we were busy raising our family. And then we knew absolutely nobody when we moved to Charlotte. At each stop, we carved out a fun, fulfilling and friend-filled experience for ourselves, and I have no doubt we'll do the same in Seattle.

It's certainly been great being around Katie, Ben, Owen and Piper. We see them all the time and enjoy the laughs, love and hugs. In just the past couple of weeks, I've gone with Ben to a Kraken game; I've watched the Sounders with Katie and her friends; and we babysat Owen and Piper so that Katie and Ben could go to dinner with Ben's family, who were visiting from out of town.

I also recently took Owen to a high school basketball game. It's obvious that my 4-year-old grandson is a huge basketball fan, based on his answer when I asked him during the drive home what his favorite part of the game was: 

"Getting a pack of Skittles."

The Balder Truth

Speaking of basketball ...

Last winter, I wrapped up the North Carolina portion of my coaching career. It was my 11th season overall, 7th as a middle-school girls head coach and 2nd at Socrates Academy, a charter school for smart kids that was just two miles from our house. 

Our top seven players from the previous season graduated, and this time we had a bunch of 6th-graders who were eager but mostly not experienced enough to compete against the many talented and older teams in our league. Although the final result was only my second sub-.500 record as a head coach (and first since my very first season), we still had a lot of fun ... and it again was wonderful having Katie as my assistant coach.

I got to Seattle too late to consider coaching here this season, and I haven't decided yet if I'll do so next year. I enjoy working with kids and I love the challenge of building a team, but it's also a solid 3-4 month commitment. And now that Robbie and I are both retired, I'm not sure I'm ready to give up that chunk of time. We'll see what's going through my head when the time to make a decision draws near.

A more successful basketball story for the 2023-24 season was written by my Marquette Golden Eagles. Coached by Shaka Smart and led by Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro, Marquette played inspired basketball all season and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in a decade. 

I got to several games, including road contests against Butler and Xavier, as well as the first two NCAA Tournament games. MU was 6-0 with me in attendance - I guess I should have gone to the NCAA Regional game we lost in Dallas, dammit! As Steve Martin used to say (back when he was funny): "I blame myself."

We have a real good team again this season, with PG Kam Jones playing like an All-American and getting excellent support from several others. I'm planning to go to three games with my friends in late January. There's also a pretty active Marquette Club in Seattle, and Robbie, Katie and I went to a game-watching event to see the takedown of the always-evil Wisconsin Rodents.

Personally, the best thing about Marquette's resurgence has been the way my old MU buddies like Chodz, Jim and John have really gotten into the team. We have text chains going during every game, we've gotten together to go to numerous games, and it's just been a lot of fun. So thanks to Shaka and the guys! Sports brings people together - one of many reasons I love them.

THE BALDEST TRUTH

Unfortunately, I spent pretty much all of 2024 dealing with serious back problems. At first, it was general soreness in the mid-back to upper-back area that kept me from doing activities I enjoy. But things got worse, and in May an MRI showed that I had a compression fracture. The pain had gotten unbearable and it took a long time for me to be able to do even mundane tasks like tie my shoes or shave.

We ended up having to cancel a scheduled trip to Europe, missing our niece's wedding (Congrats, Caroline and Daniel!), as well as a Rhine River cruise. Total bummer.

While dealing with my injury, I ended up putting extra stress on my lower back and neck, and those became problem areas, too. Making matters even worse, I got the run-around from my health-insurance company and couldn't receive the physical therapy I desperately needed.

Finally, after moving to Seattle, I decided to pay out of pocket for a highly regarded physical therapist - who also happens to be my first cousin's son-in-law, Phil - and I'm doing a lot better now. I've still got a ways to go to be able to do the real fun stuff (such as golfing, or picking up a grandkid), but at least I'm mostly able to function.

I'm looking forward to getting back to full strength in 2025. And it will happen!

Bits & Pieces

• Just because we're in the Pacific Northwest now, it doesn't mean we'll be traveling less to Chicago, where Ben, Sammi, Jack, Logan and Noah live - and where we still have many friends from our 16 years in that great city. We already have a trip scheduled for early 2025 and another tentatively planned for the spring. Our hearts will always lead us to Chicago over and over and over again.
• We lived in the Charlotte area for 14+ years, and in our house on Hickory Lake Lane for most of that time. It was the longest I had lived in any house as an adult - easily beating our 10 years at Bell Ave. in Chicago. The only abode in which I resided longer was 59 Wheeler Avenue in my hometown of Milford, CT - the only house I knew until I went away to college.
• I'm still writing investing articles, but I'm now doing so for a subscription service on the Seeking Alpha site. After years of writing for a free site, I didn't love switching to a situation in which folks have to pay to read my stuff, but that's the most common model in this day and age. And the money I get for writing still buys my beer (and, hopefully soon, my golf) - and that ain't nothing.
• Sadly, Robbie and I lost our best friend of 13 1/2 years in August, when Simmie died. She was a loyal, loving and funny pup, and we still talk about her often.
• I just realized I didn't announce my Sports Turkey of the Year for 2024, but my choice shouldn't surprise anybody who follows the NFL (or to any of my Chicago friends). It's obviously former Bears coach Matt Eberflus, who oversaw a dysfunctional, easily distracted, fundamentally weak crew of losers. I was tempted to pick one of those losers - Tyrique Stevenson, the pathetic fool who was busy taunting the crowd while Washington was in the process of launching its winning Hail Mary play. But even that screw-up ultimately belongs on Eberflus, who built a culture of pathetic foolishness. 
• It was pretty easy becoming a Seattle Seahawks fan after my long run cheering for the Carolina Panthers. It's not as if I was born and raised a Panthers fan, and I simply want to pull for the team where I live. Unfortunately, the Seahawks have been mostly frustrating in my first season rooting for them. I've even accidentally referred to them as the Panthers a few times - and that's no compliment! 2015, when the Panthers went to the Super Bowl behind Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly and a cocky cast of characters, will forever be one of my most fun seasons as a sports fan.
• I'm rooting for a Bills-Lions Super Bowl so that one of those teams' long-suffering fan bases can enjoy the ultimate feeling.

And with that, folks, I'm out. No promises about when I'll post again to TBT, but I will someday! 

Happy New Year, everybody, and may 2025 be filled with love and laughter and compassion and peace.

 

 

Cam doesn't suck, and other Super thoughts

^
Some Super Bowl thoughts on a less-than-super night for my Carolina Panthers ...

CAM

Don't judge a jock by how he reacts in front of the media. I was a skeptic when the Panthers drafted Cam Newton back in 2011 because of his checkered past, but he has been nothing but an amazingly solid citizen in Charlotte. He gives big money and countless hours to altruistic causes -- way above and beyond what is publicized. He is especially fantastic with kids.

Cam also has grown to become an outstanding team leader. One example: During the preseason, when fans wanted WR Philly Brown to be sent to Siberia because he dropped a ton of passes, it was Cam who very publicly embraced him on the sideline after one particularly horrendous drop. Cam later publicly endorsed Brown. And Brown went on to have a very productive season, crediting in great part the faith his QB had in him.

In response to the one question Newton answered in full after the game, he talked about the team's many mistakes and included his own prominently in the statement. He didn't try to sidestep the blame.

There are many athletes who are very slick in front of the media but who are total scumbags. Newton is a notoriously sore loser. It is something he needs to get better at dealing with, but I would caution anybody against making knee-jerk judgments about a person's character based upon his deportment minutes after probably the most disappointing 4 hours of his life.

As for his play in the game, Cam obviously needed to take better care of the football under duress and he needed to at least try to recover that late fumble -- a play that no doubt will give a lot of fuel to his detractors for years to come. But considering how many passes were dropped, how poorly his line blocked, how many penalties his teammates committed, how his receivers couldn't get open and how poorly the running game did, I thought he did pretty well to account for 310 yards -- pretty much the team's entire total.

His fumbles occurred after complete blocking breakdowns, and his interception came on a pass that went right through Ted Ginn's hands, costing the Panthers a sure FG and possible TD.

Hell, if Jerricho Cotchery simply catches the early pass he bobbled, the Panthers have the ball near midfield and the Broncos' ensuing sack/fumble/TD almost surely never happens. It's a totally different game. 

Cam has become a lightning rod, in great part because of his celebrations during the season. I happen to have enjoyed them. They helped make a fun season even more fun for a Panthers fan. His giving footballs to little kids easily surpassed the Lambeau Leap for "cool factor."

But, as others have said -- and I have said myself -- if you are going to be so demonstrative in victory, you really should handle defeat with more maturity. And you absolutely have to expect to be mocked and derided when you fail.

Cam and his teammates dared opponents to keep them from celebrating: "If you don't like it, all you have to do is stop us." Well, the Broncos stopped them cold (when the Panthers weren't stopping themselves). Now Cam & Co. have to deal with the fallout.

COTCHERY NON-CATCH

Cotchery bobbled Newton's pass but then appeared at first to have hauled it in, only to have the officials call it incomplete. Coach Ron Rivera challenged the call, and I don't blame him. However, after seeing just one replay, I thought the call would stand because the ball appeared to have touched the ground when Cotchery first went down and then appeared to have shifted slightly before he could gather it in.

At the Panthers-watching party Robbie and I hosted, I was the lone observer among the 8 of us who thought the call would be upheld. That was based upon how I have seen the rules interpreted over the last couple of years. 

It was one of those deals where if it had been called a catch, the evidence wouldn't have been good enough to overturn it ... but because it was called a non-catch, the evidence wasn't compelling enough to change it to a catch. Rivera made this exact point during his post-game interview.

The rule sucks at it is written and interpreted, but the rule is the rule and everybody has to play by it. I actually get a lot more upset about the blatant interference and holding that refs let defensive backs get away with. Refs have no clue how to call interference, and they often are the biggest plays in games.

Finally, for all of my fellow Panthers fans whining about the call, all Cotchery had to do was make a clean catch of a perfectly thrown pass and we wouldn't be having this discussion. 

When the Panthers signed Cotchery before the 2014 season, my first thought was, "Why are they bringing in this fossil?" He actually became one of my favorites because he was the one receiver (along with TE Greg Olsen) who rarely dropped passes. 

Well, he had three drops yesterday, and each was huge. It was kind of a microcosm of the game for the Panthers -- just about everything that could have gone wrong did.

MANNING'S LEGACY

"Legacy" is one of the dopiest cliches in sports. Peyton Manning's positive legacy already was assured based upon his many achievements and his one championship. He didn't "need" this nearly as much as he "needed" the Super Bowl win over the Bears in 2007. 

He did next to nothing to help the Broncos win this game. They would have done no worse with backup Brock Osweiler or any of a dozen other NFL backups. Frankly, Newton had a far better game under far more adverse conditions. 

So kudos to Peyton for getting a second ring, and I highly recommend he get the hell out before he gets killed.

DENVER'S D

When my Panther buds and I talked in the days leading up to the game, I said my two biggest fears were that the offensive line wouldn't be able to keep Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware off of Cam and that the receivers would revert to their pass-dropping ways. 

Unfortunately, both of those fears came true. 

Couple those problems with the multitude of other mistakes -- Mike Tolbert's fumble, Graham Gano's missed FG and the team's stunning failure to tackle a punt returner who was standing right next to 3 tacklers -- and the Panthers basically committed sports suicide.

Obviously, though, the Broncos' D deserves big-time credit, and Miller was an extremely deserving MVP.

RON RIVERA

The man is an absolute class act, and I'm thrilled to have him as Panthers coach. 

Since dumping Rivera so he could promote his incompetent buddy Bob Babich to Bears DC, Lovie Smith has been fired twice to cement his "legacy" as a loser. Karma's a bitch.

PANTHERS' FUTURE

Led by Newton, Luke Kuechly, several fine defensive linemen, WR Kelvin Benjamin and many other outstanding performers, the players who make up the Panthers' core are either young or in their prime. I like to think they'll be back, hopefully as soon as next season.

Still, one never knows in sports.

Eons ago (it seems), I was a huge Dolphins fan. My boys lost their first Super Bowl in 1972 but Larry Csonka, Bob Griese and the No-Name Defense came right back to win the next two -- including the one that capped the only undefeated championship season in major U.S. pro sports history. 

A decade later, Dan Marino followed up his record-setting second pro season by losing the Super Bowl to the 49ers. The loss stung, but Dolphin fans were sure Marino would lead them to many future titles. Reality: Marino never even got to the Super Bowl again.

So while I happen to think the Panthers do have a championship in them, they still have to prove it and, obviously, still have to improve.

As I have gotten older, I have become much better at enjoying the journeys rather than obsessing about the destinations. I try to remind myself of that with the basketball team I coach as well as in several other facets of life, and I definitely did enjoy this Panthers season. 

I have faith they will keep pounding. But even if it turns out that this was as good as it gets for this particular group, the 2015 Panthers gave me many memories that I will recall fondly for the rest of my days.
^ 

Two super teams, one Super prediction

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In late December, after the Panthers lost to the Falcons to fall to 14-1, my son Ben asked who I thought would lose next: the Panthers or the girls basketball team I coach, the Scholars Academy Eagles.

"The Panthers," I said.

Ben was surprised by my response. I'm a huge Panthers fan and a second loss would knock them out of the playoffs. Did I really think that would happen before my team, which was only 5-0 at the time, would lose?

"Yeah," I said. "I'm guessing the Panthers will lose one game next September or October before my girls start our 2016-17 season."

Even my son, a tough critic, had to admit that was a pretty good answer.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be the wrong answer.

On Tuesday, we put our 12-0 record on the line and pretty much got run out of the gym by a quicker team. It was the same team we had defeated in last year's semifinals, but this time our outstanding center, Celeste, was home sick with a cold. Without our shot-blocker -- not to mention one of our best shot-makers -- we wilted in the second half.

Of course, I'm not certain we would have won even if we had Celeste, as we did lose to that team by a single point last season. We are a very good shooting team for this age group but made hardly anything Tuesday, and that very well might have doomed us even if our center had been healthy.

+++

Meanwhile, the Panthers have not lost again since their setback in Atlanta. They ended the regular season by crushing the Bucs -- sending Lovie Smith into the coaching abyss -- and then scored impressive victories over the Seahawks and Cardinals, teams many regarded as the two most dangerous in the league.

All of that good work has put the Panthers into the Super Bowl against the Broncos. Oddsmakers have established my heroes as 5 1/2-point favorites ... and although I won't place any bets, I certainly would side with the Panthers if I did.

Yes, I'm a fan, but I'm pretty objective as fans go. (Three decades of sportswriting does that to a guy.) I simply see Carolina as the superior all-around team: far more dynamic and balanced offensively, and every bit as impressive defensively. While Cam Newton has matured into being the best quarterback in the league, 106-year-old Peyton Manning hopes to keep his body in one piece for one last hurrah.

The Broncos' strength is their outside pass rush, but even that could end up working in the Panthers' favor. If DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller get caught a little too far upfield trying to get to Newton, he will run wild into the middle of the field. If the Panthers can do a decent job of keeping those great linebackers off of Cam -- and I think they will -- it could end up being yet another lopsided Super loss for the Broncos.

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As for my Eagles, we got to experience one of the things I really like about sports: the quick turn-around.

Wednesday, one day after having a less-than-stellar performance and suffering our first loss, we played extremely well in a dominant 36-10 victory.

Celeste was back to anchor our defense, our leading scorer Sholeh found the touch that had abandoned her the day before, our top outside shooters Ritika and Olivia each swished a 3, and our defense was active and effective.

Plus, the 5th-grader we affectionately call "Rookie" had her best game -- stealing the ball several times, setting some great picks and scoring on three confident, aggressive takes to the hoop. On the third, she used a hesitation dribble to beat her defender, drove, scored and got fouled for an "and-1." The girls on the bench went wild, not just because Rookie made such a nice move but because we had worked on hesitation moves just two days earlier in practice. Which made the bald, old coach pretty happy, too!

+++

So I was wrong about which team would lose next. But if you ask me the question again ... I'll STILL say next season's Panthers.

I'm not a big believer in an undefeated team "needing" to lose in the regular season to be more psychologically prepared to win in the playoffs, but I do agree with my athletic director that sometimes a loss will re-focus a team.

We have 7 games to go -- 4 in the regular season and then, hopefully, 3 in the playoffs -- and I'm confident this group will run the table.

And the Panthers ... well, a loss Sunday ain't gonna happen.

Yes, I know most of America is rooting for Peyton Manning to go out a champion, but he's got his ring. The Bears helped assure him of that. It's our turn, now.

Panthers 30, Broncos 16.

KEEP POUNDING, BABY!!!
^

Dad is "homeless," Marquette is back, Panthers are No. 1 ... and other interesting tidbits

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This week's High Five ...

5. FRANK-LY SPEAKING

My father-in-law Frank is officially "homeless" after the sale of his suburban Chicago townhouse was completed Friday.

Robbie and I worked like dogs -- and I'm not talkin' about chihuahuas but more like border collies -- getting that place ready to sell, so it was nice to see it go so fast after hitting the market. In addition to making several trips from Charlotte to clean it out (look back at the July 6 TBT to remind yourself how crazy that experience was), we had to arrange for new carpet and paint, hire a realtor, arrange for a new garage door, etc., etc., etc. ... with the emphasis on the "etc."

All the while, Frank kept asking to go back to the place so he could sort through his things -- things that weren't there any more. (We kept him informed every step of the way, but being nearly 90, his short-term memory isn't what it used to be.) Now that it's sold, he has nothing to worry about, and that means less pressure on Robbie to deal with him worrying.

Frank is staying with his niece in Chicago through the New Year and then the plan is to make him an official North Carolina resident. Frankly, it's quite a relief.

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4. SOMEWHERE, AL McGUIRE IS SMILING 

1. I joined about 15 fellow Marquette alums at a Charlotte bar Saturday to watch our lads' impressive, exciting victory over one of the teams I especially love to hate, Wisconsin.

Marquette freshman sensation 

Henry Ellenson

drives past Bucky Badger

The game was in Madison -- the first true road test for our freshman-dominated squad -- and that historically has been a very difficult place to win. Marquette is 8-2, with seven straight victories since getting blown out at home by Iowa.

After a couple of downright depressing years to be a Warrior Eagle, it's nice to see the team going in the right direction again.

+++

3. THE WRITE STUFF

For nine straight months, every article I've written for Seeking Alpha has been an Editor's Pick. So while I'm not getting rich, I am getting recognition. Given that I have a typical writer's ego, that matters!

Here's the latest, which hit the site last week: Kinder Morgan: I Told Me So!

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2. FLY, FLY, FLY EAGLES!

My Scholars Academy Eagles go into the Xmas break at 5-0, and our margins of victory so far have been 38, 30, 32, 13 and 24 points.

We actually didn't play very well on offense in the first half of our game Thursday -- we really seemed to play down to the level of the competition -- but we "won" the second half 22-2. And I later sent the girls this text:

"Hi Ladies. The more I think about it, the more I believe we played pretty well after our slow start. We shouldn't be so worried about 'style points' that we forget to enjoy working hard, competing enthusiastically and ultimately scoring a decisive victory. Have a great weekend. Go Eagles!"

Our famed and feared, "Fly, Fly, Fly Eagles"

cheer, which is reserved only for after victories.

I just wanted the girls to know that I appreciate how hard they play and that it's unrealistic to expect perfection. I also have to remind myself to enjoy the journey as much as (hopefully) the championship destination.

At this age, it should mostly be about getting better and having fun, anyway. But yes, they do keep score ... so we might as well finish each game with more points than the other team. We're pretty good at that, too.

I'm already looking forward to January and February!

+++

1. CAM'S PANTHERS ARE NO. 1, FOLKS - DEAL WITH IT!

I am getting so tired of idiots who think they know something about the NFL calling the Panthers "the worst undefeated team" -- whatever that means -- and criticizing Cam Newton.

Well, after absolutely humiliating the Falcons on Sunday, the Panthers are 13-0 and are racking up one impressive victory after another. Newton laughed at the SI cover jinx, throwing for 600 yards and 8 TDs the last two weeks; most informed national football commentators say he is the league MVP.

In Newton, Greg Olsen, Ryan Kalil, Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, K.K. Short and Josh Norman, the Panthers have seven players who rank at or near the very top of their positions, and they also have some great role players.

It's stunning how little respect the Panthers have gotten most of this season. But hey, if that's been part of their motivation, I should stop complaining about it and hope the disrespect continues well into February.

And for opponents who think Cam is too cocky and don't like his celebrations ... all they have to do is stop him.

It hasn't happened yet in 2015.
^

Criticizing Cam is a lot easier than beating him; also - my undefeated Eagles

^
I know it's been more than a month since I've posted. I'm a busy man! Well, maybe not all THAT busy, but busy enough that writing for free is not my first priority. OK, enough about not writing ...

The big story here in Charlotte is that Cam Newton celebrates too much.

Newton has led his Panthers to a 9-0 start. Barring an epic collapse, he will be taking his Panthers to their first back-to-back-to-back playoff appearances ever. While Tom Brady almost certainly will be the NFL MVP again, Newton is in the discussion. He has improved markedly at every phase of quarterback play while remaining a lethal weapon as a runner.

Did I mention the Panthers were 9-0?

And yet thousands of folks here think he celebrates too much.

I guess they'd rather have Jimmy Clausen, who in his lone year as Panthers QB certainly didn't celebrate too much. Because QBs don't usually celebrate when they throw interceptions or get sacked.

Just the other day, I had this conversation with a fellow Panthers fan:

Him: "Who do you root for?"
Me: "The Panthers, of course!"
Him: "Yeah, they're doing great. But I don't really like Cam."

I've had versions of that conversation with many others, too. I had almost that exact conversation with a guy at a Panthers game this season. One they were winning. One in which Cam already had two touchdowns. It's the damnedest thing.

I wonder if there would be a backlash if Cam celebrated with the Discount Double Check or by sprinting downfield with his arms out -- to cite the most recent Green Bay stars at the position.

Guys who also happen to be white.

I mean, are there any Patriots fans who don't like Brady because he's often seen cursing profusely on the sideline? Are there Texan fans who don't like J.J. Watt because he celebrates his sacks?

I know, I know, I'm playing the race card with no proof. But sorry. I just think there's some racism involved, and that's sad.

What I don't hear fans say too often is what a great leader Cam has become. How when WR Philly Brown dropped a bunch of passes this preseason and was booed mercilessly for it, Cam was the first guy to embrace him and tell him to hang in there. Brown, by the way, hasn't dropped a single pass during the regular season. Coincidence? Maybe.

I also don't hear fans talk too often about Cam becoming a big-time positive contributor to the community here in Charlotte, about his many dealings with children, especially those less fortunate.

Yes, Cam makes the first-down signal when he runs for a first down and he dances when he scores and he hands the football to a little kid in the stands after a Panthers touchdown. Ipso fatso, he is too brash and lacks humility. Riiiight.

Anyway, I've really enjoyed watching Cam and the Panthers this season. It's fun to root for a team -- something I didn't do for decades as a sportswriter. And it's been extra fun because I really did start following them closely well before they started winning big. It's cool to see a player like Cam and a team overall grow up before my very eyes.

I'm not counting on a 19-0 run through the Super Bowl -- heck, the Panthers might lose to the Scalping Savages this Sunday. But I do think there's a legitimate chance they get to the Super Bowl and maybe win it.

And if they do, I plan to dance!

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Speaking of unbeaten teams, my Scholars Academy Eagles are 2-0 going into our Thanksgiving break. The girls have soundly defeated our first two opponents, but I think they realize those teams haven't been very good. We will get severely tested in our next two games against the only two teams that beat us last season.

Even though we lost our top three scorers from last season -- all great kids and leaders, too -- I am really liking this team's personality, experience and combination of skills. We are fortunate to have several eighth-graders who have been with me for two or three seasons, and it shows in the way they work together on the court and have fun with each other off the court.

My first-year point guard (second year on the team, but she was exclusively a wing last season) has been outstanding, and our center has been dominant. We have a lot of nice role players, as well. Mostly, we still play with great aggressiveness and passion, and that's the best way to win at this level.

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It's not the same as being undefeated, but my latest article on financial site Seeking Alpha marked my 17th consecutive "Editors' Pick" dating back to April.

It's always nice to get a thumbs-up.

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I promise I won't go another month (or more) without posting again. Next week is Thanksgiving, and that of course means my annual Turkey of the Year countdown.

I know the tens and tens of you reading this now can't wait!
^

Busy start to what figures to be an interesting, funky and hopefully fun-filled year

^
If the first week of January was any indication of how the next 51 are going to go, 2015 is gonna be a pretty eventful year.

It started out with Robbie and me arriving home from our Chicago visit, accompanied by her dad, Frank. He is going to be staying with us for, as we told him, "a few weeks." Now, I'm not saying yet that he'll never go back to Chicago to live by himself, but let's put it this way: We had his mail forwarded to us here in N.C., we turned off his cable service, we cleaned all the expired foodstuffs out of his fridge and cabinets (meaning pretty much nothing is left), etc, etc. You get the idea.

Frank is almost 89 years old and is in amazing physical health, but he no longer can live by himself. So it's either us or an assisted-care facility, and we're trying to make this work for at least a spell. We'll see how it goes.

By the way, I'm not too worried about him reading this given that he has never used a computer.

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Last Saturday, my new(ish) hometown faves, the Carolina Panthers, scored a resounding playoff victory over the Arizona Cardinals. We went to a sports bar to take in the game with like-minded fans and it was a lot of fun watching Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly and the rest of our boyz hold the Cardinals to the lowest yardage total in NFL postseason history.

It should be a similarly festive scene this Saturday night when the Panthers take on the Seahawks ... although I'd like "our" chances a lot better if the defending champs would play their third-string QB the way Arizona had to!

Seriously, though, the Seahawks and Panthers tend to play close, low-scoring games, so an upset isn't out of the question if Cam Newton takes care of the football and the D bottles up Russell Wilson.

Two pretty big ifs, I admit.

+++

Meanwhile, my Scholars Academy Eagles went directly from Xmas break to a game on the very first day back to school. We started horribly, fell behind St. Anne's immediately and still trailed 21-10 early in the fourth quarter.

For those unfamiliar with middle-school girls basketball, an 11-point lead with a few minutes to go is the equivalent of a 30-point lead in men's college basketball. In other words, it usually is money in the bank. The girls stayed after it, though, and we whittled into the lead. We turned up the heat on our press, and the shots we had been missing all game suddenly started falling. A layup from Margaret here, a short jumper from Sienna there, a 3-pointer from Ritika here, two free throws from Ruta there. All of a sudden, it's a 2-point game and there's still 2 minutes on the clock.

The St. Anne's coach called time-out and I spent the minute reminding our girls to stay calm and to just keep playing the great basketball they'd been playing the previous several minutes. And how 'bout this for crazy ... they actually listened!

It was 23-23 with 15 seconds left when Olivia, Margaret and Sienna teamed to break St. Anne's press. Eventually, we got the ball to Ruta for the winning layup with 3 seconds to go. Wow! It was the best quarter of basketball in my 2 years as coach, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

The next day, we played again. This time, we rolled to a 51-6 victory in a game we could have won by 100 if I hadn't called off our press in the second quarter. Hey, I'm nothing if not compassionate.

We're now 8-1 at the season's midway point, and that's one more win than we had all last year.

Pretty exciting stuff for a school with zero basketball tradition -- other than the tradition we're building right now!

+++

I also had my 50th personal finance article published on Seeking Alpha.

My previous piece has garnerned more than 54,000 pageviews and 900 comments. To provide a little perspective, anything receiving more than 10,000 views is pretty darn good, and 100 comments is a lot. That article and a few other popular pieces before it helped me to my best quarter of freelance earnings since I started with Seeking Alpha about 2 1/2 years ago.

I didn't expect my latest article to approach that level ... and it hasn't. But it did give me the opportunity to unveil the new logo I designed, so check it out!

+++

Oh, and here's one other cool thing: Robbie was the featured employee on the Levine Children's Hospital Facebook page this week.

So now she's famous for something other than being my Sugar Mama!
^

Way to bear down, Panthers!

^
Sunday, Robbie and I went to our first Panthers game.

Yep, that's me rockin' the Keyshawn Johnson

jersey I got on eBay for 16 bucks!

We were joined by Ben, who was in town from Chicago to root on his Bears. Ben and I made a bet: If the Panthers win, he would have to wear my Panthers shirt when he "guest coaches" my middle school basketball team at Monday's practice; if the Bears win, I'd wear his shirt to practice.

He'll look good in black and Panthers blue, baby!

For much of the game, it seemed I'd have to wear his "Ditka is God" t-shirt, though, as the Bears took advantage of a bunch of Panthers mistakes to race to a 21-7 lead.

But when Robbie Gould shockingly went wide-right on a 35-yard FG late in the first half and then Cam Newton marched the Panthers downfield for a TD pass to Greg Olsen seconds before halftime, I began to think my adopted team had a chance.

As it turned out, it was just a matter of waiting for the inevitable screw-ups by Jay Cutler & Co. A horribly thrown pass by Cutler with about 6 minutes left was intercepted and led to a FG that tied it at 24. On Chicago's very next offensive play, Matt Forte fumbled and the Panthers recovered. Newton and Olsen connected in the end zone again, and the Panthers had the lead with just over 2 minutes to go.

The Bears' last hope ended with Cutler getting sacked and fumbling. The stadium was rocking, with Panthers fans out-shouting the thousands of Bear backers who showed up.

Up in Section 535, we were surrounded by Bears fans - including the guy in front of me who for some reason decided to wear his Olsen #82 jersey. Really, this yahoo wanted to be reminded about the awful trade that gave away one of the NFL's best tight ends? In an interview last week, Jerry Angelo finally admitted the trade was a bad one.

Thanks, Jerry! No wonder you're now an ex-GM.

I wasn't surprised the Bears imploded - especially Cutler, who has won one playoff game in his entire career and whose job title should read "Coach Killer Extraordinaire." I was a little surprised by the screw-ups of Gould and Forte, two of the few reliable Bears.

I am happy for good-guy Panthers coach Ron Rivera, who spent his entire playing career in Chicago and, as defensive coordinator, helped the Bears reach the 2007 Super Bowl. This season, Rivera has beaten both his former team and Lovie Smith, the now-Bucs coach who inexplicably fired Rivera after the Super Bowl so he could hire his incompetent buddy, Bob Babich. Hey, Rivera was too good for Lovie the Loser, anyway!

While the Bears prepare to fall to sub-mediocrity, "my" Panthers are alone in first place in the NFC South ... at least for a week. The brutal upcoming schedule includes these next three games: at Cinci, at Green Bay and home vs. Seattle.

So playing the Bears at home represented a must-win situation. And thanks in great part to the Bears' largess, win the Panthers did.
^

I wasn't too distracted to write this

^
"Distraction" is a media invention. A player or team is faced with some kind of off-the-field issue, and, through their line of questioning, writers and broadcasters immediately look to give the player or team an out.

"Coach, are you worried your guys will be distracted by ... "

What a crock.

Yes, it will distract them if they are weak-minded losers. If they are strong-willed winners, however, the situation at hand actually will serve to motivate and unite them.

The Ray Rice drama played out in Baltimore for months, with the three-time Pro Bowl tailback and fiancee abuser finally getting cut one week ago. For the next three days, coaches and players were incessantly asked about how the situation would distract the Ravens on Thursday night, when they were to play the Steelers.

Well, the Ravens crushed the rival Steelers. Rice's replacement, relative unknown Bernard Pierce, rushed for 96 yards.

As the Rice episode unfolded, here in Charlotte folks were concentrating on All-Pro defensive end Greg Hardy, who was convicted by a judge for assaulting his girlfriend. Hardy has appealed and his case eventually will be heard by a jury. Neither the NFL nor the Panthers suspended him because they said they felt they should let the legal course play out.

Panthers owner Jerry Richardson got all choked up as he spoke publicly about his strong stance against domestic violence, but Hardy remained on the active roster for yesterday's game against Detroit. "How much of a distraction is this?" was the most-asked question at team HQ.

Finally, the day of the game, the Panthers decided to deactivate Hardy. They then went out and throttled the Lions, holding one of the NFL's most explosive teams to 7 points. Hardy's replacement, Mario Addison, had 2 1/2 sacks.

The Ravens and Panthers refused to be distracted. They refused to cave in to the perception that they couldn't live without star players. Whether or not one likes the way Ravens and Panthers management handled the situations in the days and weeks leading up to their decisions regarding Rice and Hardy, one has to be impressed with the way players and coaches responded once the ball was kicked off.

As Thomas Davis, one of the Panthers' defensive captains, told the media after the game: "We've got to continue to come to work and do what we're paid to do."

Remember these results the next time your favorite team takes the media's bait and plays the distraction card.
^

Today's High Five: A wonderful time of the year!

^
Man (and woman), do I love this time of year! So much going on in the wide world of sports - and that's a very welcome distraction with what's going on in the wide world of non-sports.

5. OLD MEN AND THE SEE-I'M-NOT-DECREPIT-YET

My old-dude softball team, the Sons of Pitches, is 4-0 in the fall league after beating the other previously unbeaten team last night.

We not only won, we won by slaughter rule ... and we won with style, baby!

In the top of the second inning, we turned a TRIPLE PLAY. Yep, a triple-freakin-play! Runners on first and second; the batter hits a sinking line drive to right-center; the runners take off, certain they will be scoring on the play; our RCF Wayne makes a running catch; Wayne throws to SS Tom for Out No. 2; Tom fires to 1B Bob for Out No. 3. Yowsa!

We then come up in bottom of the inning and celebrate by scoring the maximum 5 runs, with Pat - our coach, pitcher and Penguin-run-alike - hitting a three-run homer. Way to go, Ron Cey! (Or is it more like Burgess Meredith?)

We have such a fun group of guys it will be sad when the season ends - and our two-year run as a team ends with it. There will be a new draft next spring and our guys will be cast about the league.

But we still have a lot of fun to go this season. It really isn't even fall yet, we're undefeated, and we have a championship to win!

4. CHICAGO'S HOPELESS

The Cubs are in last place, 16 games out. The White Sox are in next-to-last place, 15 1/2 games out. And the Bears found a way to lose their season opener at home to the Bills.

All of which can only mean one thing:

It's September in Chicago!

Fans from my former hometown at least can celebrate that Derrick Rose, who is playing for the U.S. National Team, is experiencing no knee problems.

Yet.

Meanwhile, my Panthers kicked butt and took prisoners in their opener at Tampa Bay, even without the injured Cam Newton.

The Panthers aren't a great team, but I think they're pretty darn good. I don't like talking much about Fantasy Football because people who play it never shut up when they start talking, but if Kelvin Benjamin happens to still be available in your league, you'd be wise to snag him. He's well on his way to being a stud.

3.  PAIN ... AND NOT MUCH GAIN

The last Little League game I umpired, on Sunday, I took a foul ball to my right shoulder. The pain was so intense that I thought the ball must have somehow gotten under or over my chest protector's shoulder-pad attachment. But it hadn't. The ball just was hit hard and caught me in the "perfect" spot.

The next inning, I was hit by a pitch when the left-handed catcher didn't quite reach across his body enough to catch a ball that was barely out of the strike zone. The ball hit me just below the middle knuckle on my left index finger, an area that is now a lovely shade of purple.

And the next inning, a kid fouled one back off my right shoulder - again. The ball got me within an inch of the previous injury, and I was seeing stars for a few seconds. Ever the trooper, I shook it off and continued. That's why I get the big bucks.

I guess all that punishment was payback for joking around after I had taken a relatively innocuous shot off my shin guard in the first inning. A coach asked if I was OK, and I responded:

"I'm fine. My wife hits me harder than that!"

2. AND SPEAKING OF RAY RICE ...

Why is being fired by the Ravens and suspended the NFL an appropriate punishment for treating a woman like a punching bag?

Why isn't this guy in jail?

OK, I know why he isn't in jail. He is rich enough to afford a good lawyer. That being said, Rice clearly is a bad human being, he can't control his temper, he is super strong, and he almost surely is armed. You can't convince me he is not a threat to society.

Those who know me well know that I'm a softy - and a big believer in second chances. But this criminal should have to sit in a small cell for at least a few months before he gets his second chance.

1. VALUE = VICTORY

The NFL season is underway. So is the college football season, and now that there's an actual playoff system waiting at the end, I might even watch a few games. Tennis just played its U.S. Open and golf's Ryder Cup is just around the corner. Soon enough, NHL teams will report to training camp, NBA teams will do likewise and college basketball teams will hold their Midnight Madness sessions. And in soccer "friendlies" all around the world, guys with one name are pretending they were shot in an attempt to draw penalties against opponents who didn't touch them.

Things are so sportarific in September, and baseball is the sportarificest of all.

One of the things I miss most about Chicago is that I no longer live in a town with big-league baseball (or whatever it is that the Cubs and White Sox claim to play). With the Internet, ESPN and the MLB Network, I can keep up with the game pretty well, but it isn't quite the same as having not just one but two teams right in the city.

I have been enjoying the division and wild-card races, but mostly I have been thinking about the MVP awards in each league.

In the AL, the best offensive player has been White Sox rookie Jose Abreu, who came from Cuba and started hitting the second he set foot in Comiskular Park. But you know what? If I had a ballot this season, he wouldn't even be one of the first five guys I'd vote for. He might not even be in my top 10.

For me, an MVP candidate has to be on a team that at least contends for a postseason berth. He has to have come through in games that have meaning - either early- and mid-season games that have helped his team to a big division lead, or late-season games that have given his team a chance at the playoffs.

How can Abreu be the Most Valuable Player in his league if his team hasn't played a game "of value" since May? Yes, he has value to the White Sox. Yes, he deserves Rookie of the Year in a runaway. MVP of the entire league? Please.

Mike Trout seemed a lock for the award at midseason but he slumped pretty badly in August. Still, he leads the league in RBIs, he has helped his Angels roll past the once-dominant A's while compiling the league's best record, and he is dynamic both in the field and on the bases. He's still the choice over Detroit's Miguel Cabrera and Baltimore's Nelson Cruz.

Things are even more interesting in the NL, where the absence of a hitting superstar on any winning team has put a pitcher atop the MVP heap.

And what a pitcher. Clayton Kershaw has had several outstanding years, and he's now having one for the ages: 18-3 with a 1.67 ERA. He is in Koufax/Gibson territory, and he is the main reason the Dodgers overcame a slow start - Kershaw missed April and it took him most of May to shake off the rust - to surge past the Giants in the NL West.

Valid arguments can be made that a pitcher who makes 30 starts shouldn't win an MVP award ahead of everyday ballplayers, but Kershaw has been so dominant and has so obviously lifted the Dodgers, that he is an example of why it should be rare but possible.

For stat-heads who like advanced metrics, Kershaw leads all MLB players in Wins Above Replacement, and the guy in second (somewhat surprisingly, Oakland's Josh Donaldson) isn't very close behind.

The Marlins don't even have a .500 record and they are only on the fringes of the wild-card race, but if they can make a legitimate push over the last couple of weeks, Giancarlo "Don't Call Me Mike" Stanton could make it a two-man MVP race. Stanton leads the league in HR and RBI and he's a great all-around player. He's put up his numbers not in a Rockies-style thin-air-aided bandbox but in Miami's spacious, pitcher-friendly ballpark. Very impressive.

Stanton's best chance is if the Marlins make a big move in the next two weeks and if Kershaw loses some votes to teammate Adrian Gonzalez, who has been hot of late and is right behind Stanton in the RBI race. I suppose Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen could go wild down the stretch and steal the award, but I don't see it happening.

Right now, Kershaw is a pretty easy choice for MVP, Cy Young and, hell, let's make him governor of California, too. Jerry Brown can't have more than another decade or three in office, right?
^

Sucky Sunday for Panthers fans, but our day was still better than A-Roid's

^
Only one of the four NFL teams that had a first-round bye and homefield advantage in this weekend's playoffs lost.

My team, the Panthers.

Their decisive loss to the 49ers capped a pretty lousy Sunday -- despite the fact that I spent most of it looking splendid in my Keyshawn Johnson #19 Panthers jersey circa 2006.

I had decided I wanted to watch the game with like-minded folks, so Roberta and I went to what I thought was a sports bar. We got there about 15 minutes before kickoff to find about 3 other people, none of whom seemed especially interested in the game.

That wasn't the vibe I wanted, so we left and went to an establishment I knew would be hopping. Getting there just before kickoff, the place was packed. So packed, there was not a single seat available. So we left to go to a place just a few minutes from where we live.

That place might have been even more packed than the previous establishment, so, with the game now well underway, we left and went to one just down the street.

That one had available seating in a room adjacent to the bar so we decided to stay. The place was fine. The burgers were fine. The beer was cold and cheap. The game was on. But most of the like-minded folks were at the bar a whole room away, so it didn't feel like much of an occasion at all.

And then the Panthers failed to score from the 1/2-yard line. And then they failed again. And then the 49ers took a halftime lead on a last-second TD. And then San Fran dominated the second half. And then Robbie and I went home halfway through the fourth quarter to watch the bitter end to what had been an extremely enjoyable season.

And then I took off my Panthers jersey until next season.

+++

At least I, unlike Alex Rodriguez, will have a "next season" to enjoy.

Sunday's 60 Minutes expose on A-Roid was fascinating. Yes, the primary witness against him is a sleazebag with a history of fabricating the truth. But I had to laugh when A-Roid's lawyer intimated that his client was more believable than the sleazebag. Interesting, given that A-Roid spent years and years lying about juicing, only admitting the truth after being caught.

A-Roid is an admitted serial liar and a proven cheat. But now we're supposed to believe him. Funny!

Is it sad that a guy who could have been among the greatest players in baseball history thought cheating was the only way to do it? Nah. Pathetic is a much better word.

I doubt the courts will help A-Roid overturn his suspension for the entire 2014 season. And if there truly is any justice, he will never play another inning in the majors.
^

Basketball and football in the enlightened New South

^
Wow, has it really been 3 weeks since I last posted? How time flies when I'm not feeling like writing for free.

It's a big week here in The New South.

Actually, North Carolina used to be The New South. Then we elected a bunch of enlightened gentlemen who have turned back the clock to a more genteel era -- when broads, coloreds, heathens and homos knew their places.

A couple of days ago, Bob Rucho, the Republican state representative who serves the area that includes my town of Matthews, took to Twitter to say this:

"Justice Robert's pen & Obamacare has done more damage to the USA then the swords of the Nazis, Soviets & terrorists combined."

That's right: In the space of 140 characters, this noble public servant managed to insult Jews, political prisoners, 9/11 victims and the grammar police. When numerous people -- including his own party's leadership -- suggested he might want to apologize, he doubled down and said he meant every misspelled, mispunctuated and misused word he twitted.

Yes, we sure are very refined here in The New South.

But I digress ...

Now where was I? Oh yeah. Big week.

First, my Eagles scored our first home victory of the season, and we go into the winter break with our first two-game winning streak. After an 0-2 start, we split our next two games before winning these last two in decisive fashion. More importantly, the girls are smart and coachable and really seem to be having fun. I'm already looking forward to January.

+++

I'm also looking forward to January to see how the Panthers do in the NFL playoffs. That's this week's other thang here in Charlotte (and, I admit, the thang that probably appeals to a few more folks).

If the Panthers take care of business at home Sunday and beat the Saints, they'll be in first place in the NFC South. They will clinch a playoff spot and will have the inside track on a first-round bye.

This is my fourth Panthers season as a North Carolinian, and it's been a blast to have the city be in such good spirits most Monday mornings. A top-notch NFL team has that kind of effect on its town.

+++

Meanwhile, I have less than two weeks to cast my Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Last year's vote was a difficult one and this is even more challenging, loaded with a dozen all-time greats in their first or second years of eligibility. I've got my selections in mind but I've been preoccupied with basketball and haven't studied it yet. I'll be making my picks in the next few days and will be sure to post them here.

I'd wish everybody Happy Holidays now, but I'd hate to offend Bill O'Reilly and Sarah Palin with such a generic greeting. So instead I'll give them what they want:

"Merry Kwanzaa from The New South, y'all!"
^

Baldy's back, and just in time for my favorite month

^
10. My Internet buddy (and faithful reader back when my columns appeared in the Springfield, Ill., newspaper), Doug Nicodemus, has been asking me repeatedly why I haven't been blogging much lately. On Monday, after checking TBT regularly the last 5 weeks but finding no new entries, he posted this on my Facebook page:

"no blog for awhile ... are we all done ... maybe ..."

No, I'm not all done. But as I have explained to Doug -- and as I explained earlier Monday to my softball buddy Johnny, whom I saw at a local golf course -- the little bit of writing I'm doing these days has involved me getting paid. Crazy concept, I know.

Not that money is the end-all and be-all, but it buys more things than bupkis. Which is what I get paid for posting here on The Baldest Truth.

So to my tens and tens of regular readers, I thank you for your loyalty but I make no promises other than to say that I'll continue to blog when something strikes me as relevant or when I have some spare time to write pro bono.

9. As much as I'd like to see the Pirates or Rays or A's win for the small markets or the Indians or Reds win for underdogs everywhere, I can't bring myself to predict multiple champagne showers for those teams this October.

I'm thinking the Tigers, with their fine starting pitching and powerful middle of the order, will meet the talented, high-priced Red Sox, for the AL pennant. And the Dodgers, with their incredible pitching, will take on the Cardinals, who always seem to rise to the occasion, for the NL crown. 

If the Tigers had a stud reliever, I'd pick them to beat the Red Sox. But they don't. So I won't. 

I'd like to see the Cardinals do it with Mike Matheny managing, because I always appreciated him as a player, but the Dodgers remind me of recent Giants teams that won championships despite mediocre hitting.

So I'm saying Red Sox vs. Dodgers in the World Series.

The champion? I'm leaning Dodgers, but I'll hold off with an "official" prediction until we get to the Series.

There. I've committed to another blog post later in October. That should make Doug and Johnny delirious with joy!

8. Folks keep trying to find all kinds of reasons that somebody other than Miguel Cabrera should win the AL MVP. Please. This is one of those it's-so-obvious-there-must-be-another-choice situations, like when NBA MVP voters used to try to find somebody not named Michael Jordan to win the award.

Mike Trout had a fine season for a sub-.500 Angels team that finished 18 games out -- a team that started poorly in part because Trout started poorly. And yet Cabrera still had better stats almost across the board, almost won a second straight Triple Crown, and did it all for a team he led to another division title.

This is the no-brainer of all no-brainers. Sabermetricians and other misguided souls need to stop trying to make this "race" something it isn't. 

Cabrera should be the unanimous MVP choice.

7. Meanwhile, if I had an NL MVP vote, I'd be going with Braves closer Craig Kimbrel, the single biggest reason Atlanta led its division from wire-to-wire.

When a team blows a late-inning lead, it's bad. When that happens repeatedly, it's catastrophic -- not only in the standings but in the psyche of every player on that team.

What a great joy and comfort it must have been all season for manager Fredi Gonzalez and all the Atlanta players to know their team pretty much was never going to blow a ninth-inning lead.

6. My "hometown" NFL team, the Panthers, better not have spent their bye week patting themselves on their backs for their blowout victory over the Giants. 

Everybody blows out the Giants!

The only team worse than the Giants right now is Jacksonville. And yes, I said "right now" for a reason. The Giants might still be able to find a new low.

5. I have started umpiring youth baseball, something I hadn't done for at least two decades. My first game was supposed to be this coming Wednesday but the umpiring coordinator was in a pinch and asked me call the bases for three games last Sunday involving 9-year-olds.

The first game began at noon. It went so long -- walks, physical errors, more walks, mental mistakes, still more walks; these are 9-year-olds, after all -- that the second game started 45 minutes late. That game also went long, so the third game started more than an hour late, and didn't end until 6:58 p.m.

So I spent 7 hours standing on a hot, dusty field. I tried to stay hydrated but almost surely didn't drink enough. I ate only an apple. By the time I drove home, I had one of the worst headaches of my life.

Next time I have to work more than one game, I will make sure I sit down between innings, will find some shade between games and will force myself to consume several gallons of water. Oh, and I'll take some Advil before the first pitch of the first game!

4. Because I umped all day Sunday, I watched zero football. Just saw a few highlights on ESPN; I couldn't watch it with the volume on because my head was pounding. 

I couldn't help but notice that Jay Cutler was back to his old give-the-ball-away tricks, playing a huge role in the Bears falling to the Lions.

That team will go only as far as its QB takes it, and I wouldn't want to bet my life savings -- or even one-billionth of my billion-dollar portfolio -- on that guy.

3. October is my favorite month.

The World Series (and the playoffs that precede the Series). The NFL in full swing. College football conference games (rather than the creampuff schedules that permeate September). The start of the NHL and NBA seasons. The start of college basketball practice. Wonderful weather here in Charlotte. 

October also is my birthday month. And given that my immaturity prevents me from getting old, what's not to love about that?!?!?!

2. In Monday's least-surprising sports story, the Cubbies fired manager Dale Sveum.

No matter who is running the show, including current Pooh-bah Theo Epstein, firing managers is what the Cubbies do best. 

They're not so hot at pitching or hitting or fielding or running the bases. Firing managers? They are championship-caliber in that domain!

The hot speculation is that Joe Girardi will be the next sucker. Girardi is a Peoria native, a Northwestern grad and a former Cubs catcher, and his contract with the Yankees expires in one month.

Even if he decided to leave New York, why he would want to manage in Cubbieland? Wouldn't several other organizations that have a chance to win before 2020 be more interesting to him? If he doesn't like the scrutiny in New York, why would he like it in Chicago, where Lou Piniella and Dusty Baker each went from genius to dolt (in the fans' eyes) in the space of less than one season? 

Then again, there does seem to be this amazing allure to the Cubs. Everybody wants to be The Guy to fix them. Piniella and Baker are recent examples of proven winners who went to Cubbieland, made an early splash and soon learned the hard way what all the trappings of Cubdom really mean.

If I'm Girardi, I stay with the Yankees. Or I go to just about any other team where winning actually happens. Or I chillax for a couple of years being a TV yakker.

I do just about anything but sign on to be part of Championship-Free Years No. 106, 107, 108 and 109. 

1. I'd come up with a memorable, spectacular, sensational conclusion to this blog post except I'm so excited about the Republicans in the House voting for the gazillionth time to either repeal or defund Obamacare that it's hard to think!

Never mind that repealing Obamacare was the No. 1 Republican goal of the 2012 election ... which they lost ... handily. Also never mind that the GOP also questioned the constitutionality of Obamacare in front of the Supreme Court ... and lost that, too.

This time, they're willing to shut down the entire government and possibly willing to refuse to pay the bills the country already has due. All for a fight they can't win, all to please the tea-partying extremists, all to avoid being "primaried."

What a country.

^

Marquette -- and Nadels -- Sweet 16 bound!

^
1. Last weekend was among the most thrilling 3-day stretches I have enjoyed/endured in my 35 years as a Marquette fan.

The win over Davidson in the NCAA opener was -- in the understatement of the year -- fortunate. There obviously was skill in the way Vander Blue and Jamil Wilson suddenly started draining 3-pointers and then in Blue's game-winning drive, but Marquette received so many breaks along the way we officially gave up any right to complain about not getting breaks the rest of the tournament.

Two nights later, Marquette and Butler went at it in a spectacular college basketball game, the kind of sporting event that makes this time of year my absolute favorite. My lads again got a lucky bounce or three but mostly they imposed their will in the second half and thoroughly deserved the victory. Again, Blue was the star.

So it's back to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. Among the schools that can't make that claim: Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Indiana, UCLA, Wisconsin, Illinois, Syracuse, Michigan State, Arizona, UConn and Louisville.

In other words, it's a pretty special accomplishment.

Roberta and I have decided to celebrate the achievement by making the 6-hour drive to Washington to watch Marquette take on Miami in the Sweet 16. Just bought our tickets and booked our hotel. It was a spontaneous decision, the kind I rarely make, but what the heck? Maybe with us cheering them on from the nosebleed section of the Verizon Center, the Golden Warriors will advance on to the Elite Eight and the Final Four.

Whatever happens, it's been an amazing ride.

2. One of the linebackers the Bears signed to replace the departed Brian Urlacher was James Anderson, formerly of the Panthers. At this stage of their careers, Anderson is a better player. Also, less likely to get hurt. And less likely to say something idiotic.

3. Tiger Woods still has to win a major to prove he's TIGER WOODS! again, but he looks as good now as he did the last time he was great, 2008.

4. It's strange to be totally isolated from baseball. Spring training used to be one of my favorite assignments, especially after I became a columnist and could call my own shots. I doubt I could name 10 players on either the Cubs or White Sox now.

5. Marquette has authored just one of several crazy stories so far in the NCAAs. Top teams such as Indiana, Duke, Kansas, Ohio State and Miami have struggled to win ... but at least they did win. The same can't be said for Georgetown, New Mexico and St. Louis, each among the darlings of the supposed experts who try to forecast Final Four teams. Gonzaga, as usual, was proven a fraud from a weak conference. Oregon and Arizona have given the supposedly pathetic Pac-12 as many Sweet 16 representatives as the SEC and Big 12 combined. Either LaSalle or Wichita State will make the Elite Eight. Wow.

And Florida Gulf Coast ... are you kidding me? Have you seen this team play? Entertaining, athletic, fast-paced, high-flying and, most importantly at this time of year, victorious.

Here's a squad that has lost to Maine, Mercer, East Tennessee State, Stetson and Lipscomb -- twice! --  yet it absolutely destroyed Georgetown and handily beat San Diego State to be one of the 16 teams still standing. Ridiculous.

Can the Eagles beat Florida? Logic would say not a chance. But since when has logic meant anything in the NCAA tournament, especially this year?
^

Stuff yourself silly with the 2012 Turkeys of the Year

^
It's that time of the year, when thoughts turn to the turkey on our plates and the Turkeys who inhabit the sportosphere.

My tradition of choosing a Turkey of the Year goes back to my first year as Copley Newspapers' Chicago columnist, 1998, when Bears president Michael McCaskey was so inept that his mommy fired him.

Since then, it's been a parade of clowns, cads, chokers and chumps: Jerry Krause (1999); Bobby Knight (2000); David Wells & Frank Thomas (2001); Dick Jauron (2002); Sammy Sosa (2003 and 2004); Andy MacPhail, Jim Hendry & Dusty Baker (2005); Aramis Ramirez (2006); Charlie Weis (2007); Choking Cubbies (2008); Milton Bradley (2009); Mark McGwire (2010); Joe Paterno & Penn State Enablers (2011).

(You'll notice that from 1998-2009, most Turkeys of the Year had Chicago and/or Midwest connections because of where I lived and columnized. Now in my second full year as a Southern boy, the Turkey Countdown has a different flavor.)

As always, I dedicate this tradition to my absent friend, Gene Seymour, my Copley columnist predecessor, the founder of Copley's sports turkey awards and one of the great guys journalism has ever known.

10. RYAN KALIL: The Panthers center took out a full-page newspaper ad before the season promising Carolina fans that the team would win the Super Bowl. By the time the Panthers reached their bye week, they were 1-4 and Kalil was done for the season with a foot injury. Great. Now nobody will take out full-page newspaper ads. As if the business isn't in bad enough shape.

9. JEFFREY LORIA: The Marlins owner got taxpayers to foot the bill for a new ballpark and then filled it with expensive players ... for about half a season. When the team stunk, he dumped just about every player who made more than 12 cents and fired Ozzie Guillen for being what Ozzie Guillen always has been. And hey, even Loria's ballpark is ugly.

8. LANCE ARMSTRONG: Yeah ... I know ... it's only really a headline if a cyclist doesn't dope. Still ... this was Lance Freakin' Armstrong, all-American hero, who spent most of a decade cheating and lying.

7. BOBBY VALENTINE: The biggest Boston disaster since Cheers went off the air.

6. NHL OWNERS, PLAYERS & COMMISH GARY BETTMAN: Working together marvelously to keep hockey an irrelevant, niche sport.
 

5. REX RYAN: The Jets had just signed Mark Sanchez to a huge, long-term deal when Ryan traded for Tim Tebow -- ensuring that ever-patient New York fans would be calling for Tebow to play every time Sanchez threw an incomplete pass. Even Jets players know Tebow is terrible, but why should that stop fans from praying for a Tebow miracle?

4. MELKY CABRERA: He was All-Star Game MVP for the winning NL team, thereby giving his Giants homefield advantage in the World Series. Cabrera wasn't there to see the Series, though, having been suspended for juicing. The cool thing is that the Giants won without him. I wonder if he'll get a championship ring?

3. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS: By cheering when QB Matt Cassel got hurt, these yahoos proved that they belong in a second-rate sports town. 

2. ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Followed a bad season with an almost surreal postseason. The richest man in baseball history was benched for three playoff games and pinch-hit for six times. The good news for A-Dud is that the $114 million left on his Yankees contract can buy lots of HGH and plenty of masking agents.

And now, the 2012 Turkeys of the Year:

U.S. RYDER CUP TEAM

There are chokes, there are Cubbie chokes and then there was this, arguably the most complete choke-job in the history of professional sports.

The chokiest of chokers was Jim Furyk. His collapse in his pivotal match capped a year in which he also frittered away the U.S. Open and two PGA Tour events.

This result hardly could be pinned on Furyk alone, however. Tiger Woods didn't record a single point in the entire event. Neither did Steve Stricker, who was joined by Furyk, Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson on the list of Americans who wet themselves down the stretch.

Holy Heimlich, Batman ... talk about a total team effort.
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