Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Congratulations to UMass the 2021 NCAA Men's Hockey National Champions! I wonder if there will be a victory parade in Amherst?... They should hand out the 2021 MLB Comeback Player of the Year right now... An updated version of A Few Good Men would have Lt Daniel Kaffee arguing that Corporal Dawson and Private Downey weren't giving Santiago a Code Red - they were just trying to get him to wear his mask. Of course an updated version would have to change the title to A Few Good People Who Self-Identify As They Wish... In the discussion of the greatest American writer since Hemingway the name Ray Bradbury has to be in the discussion... An inconvenient truth is that Al Gore's documentary  of the same name has not aged well or held up factually. When's the last time you saw it offered or advertised on a streaming service? That movie has pretty much gone down the memory hole... All the best to Rep. Dan Crenshaw. Get well soon America needs your voice of reason... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Much more excited about UMass making the Frozen Four than I'm upset about the US Men's national team failing to make the Olympics. Actually couldn't care less about the soccer team. Stop trying to make soccer happen... I'm an awful person for STILL laughing at this...  Since the pandemic I've become uber skeptical of experts of all-stripes. When reading anything that has the words "assessment," "analysis," "projection," "prediction," and "forecast" I now automatically mentally replace those words with the word "guess." It really does help change how you feel about the author's conclusions and allows you to think more clearly... A reminder - It's still time to build... The Towel of Babel would be a good name for a day spa... Still say Americans should replace handshakes with finger guns. A way to both social distance and also piss off social justice warriors. PEW PEW PEW... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Congratulations to the UMass men's hockey team for making the NCAA Frozen Four. This should be a bigger deal in New England sports but unfortunately it will go largely unnoticed... There should be a word for people who not only wear a mask in a car when driving alone but wear a double-mask. Wait there is such a word - idiot!... Rampant Narcissism would be a good name for a band who took the stage all holding selfie-sticks and who just sang over the top Karaoke... If you think about it - every tax is a "sin" tax... In my opinion - hiring a sky writer to make a giant penis would be the most epic way to handle a gender reveal... 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The US needs to keep the pressure on Iran's regime.

- Maybe the best way to announce your retirement ever.

- Wages and salaries jump by 3.1% highest level in a decade. This news may have gotten more press except there's an election coming.

- It's cool that Assumption College in Worcester is getting so much love this football season

- And speaking of Worcester - UMass Medical researchers near ALS breakthrough

- Ernest Hemingway's guide to life in 20 quotes

- This just cracks me up

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- One of the best boxing comebacks of all-time.

- Good for him! Two decades later Marcus Camby gets his degree

- Who knew Scotland could be so colorful?

- Troublesome facts

- Cool but how would it fare against a fire hose?

- Samuel Whittemore the original American badass

- Good question - why don't we just throw garbage into active volcanoes?

- Racist fan at Fenway finally identified

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

It was bad for Pat Kelsey to leave UMass at the altar for both Kelsey and UMass. My guess is word came to Kelsey that another higher profile opportunity with interest in him will be surfacing after the tournament... Faster please!... I think the word "disseminate" should refer to when a man jerks off to climax... I love these stories (I would have loved a Bruins win last night just as much)... If another job isn't handed to Kelsey after the tournament then you can be sure that AD's across the country will long remember what he did to UMass... If Disturbed can cover Sound of Silence - why not have Metallica cover Dianna Ross' Do You Know (Where You're Going To)... Therapeutic Cunnilingus would be a good name for a band... If the Saints need a CB so badly - wouldn't it have been better for them to have signed Stephon Gilmore? Trying to work a deal with the Patriots for Malcolm Butler will end up costing them much more...  Try our new grandma (she's delicious!)... Who knew? Ulysses S. Grant is the only person on regularly used US currency that actually graduated from college... Heh heh - train don't give a damn... I also think the word "orgasm" should be replaced with the word "culminate"...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- What happens to these cicadas is a nightmare of mine. Nature can be a viscous bitch.

- Long live the Oxford comma!

- UMass-Amherst is always making the news for the wrong reasons. Harambe died for your sins!

- I hope Las Vegas does name their NHL team the Ratpack. And I would buy one of those away jerseys.

- And speaking of Harambe...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

With the Yankees and their fans becoming completely disenchanted with Alex Rodriguez it seems the unthinkable may become thinkable. Could the Yankees start the 2013 season without A-Rod? If so - who would they get to replace him? How about this scenario - Kevin Youkilis in pinstripes? Stranger things have happened... Never thoughts I'd be saying this (especially not this year) but the fact is UMass may actually have a better football program than Boston College at this point. Seriously.... Agent Coulson resurrected for Josh Whedon's ABC SHIELD TV show... I can't explain it but the name "Carl" Ripken  really amuses me. Thanks for the laugh inept TBS personnel... I hate when I hear a cell phone ring on TV because it almost always has the same ring as my phone. Makes me feel like a dope when I realize it was just the TV... Block Me Amedaeus would be a good name for a fantasy football team... Did Bobby Valentine just validate the idea he's a complete phony?... All you need to know about men is the fact they all understand what a DD bra size means but they can't tell you anything about dress sizes... Just a reminder to everyone who watched the VP debate this week. Joe Biden was added to the ticket by Obama to add "gravitas"...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Will the phrase "Physically or emotionally into the game" become to Bobby Valentine what the phrase "pumped and jacked" became for Pete Carroll in New England?... Awesome...  Heh heh - some UMass fans are glad Boston College doesn't want to play them. They were tired of BC dragging down their strength of schedule and RPI scores...  It doesn't matter what the menu says - Kobe beef is not served in the US... Am I the only one who keeps forgetting that Ron Paul is still in the Presidential race?... The Science Channel now airs TED Talks. That is fantastic... One Jackie Robinson Day nugget to keep in the back of your mind - when Jackie was first on the Hall of Fame Ballot 22% of the BBWAA did not vote for him... I miss 70's beer ads like this...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

If the Big East gets turned down by Boise State they should look to UMass. They already have pretty good hoops and are going to BCS level football. Plus they are actually in the East... Heh heh - science proves that some men maybe just can't help making promises to women they don't intend to keep in order to get a little something-something - it's in their nature or should I say it is Nature... How ironic would it be if Bobby Valentine took the Red Sox manager job and Terry Francona took the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball announcing job Bobby V would be leaving?... I can see how some people could go overboard with gold everything but I think these vans set up as traveling offices make tremendous sense. I would love to have one... At the beginning of Tim Tebow's FRS commercial he looks to be riding an escalator. What's up with that? Take the stairs you lazy bastard! You are supposed to be working out and setting an example... Interesting videos about Steve Jobs starting up NeXT. Like stepping into an IT world time machine... Who knew? According to Mental Floss: The Christmas classic "Do You Hear What I Hear?" was written in 1962 as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis... Sneak peak look at season two of Game of Thrones... I don't have a problem with NASCAR fans booing Michele Obama. Americans hate phonies. Does anyone really think Michele Obama likes NASCAR racing or was she just using the big crowd and TV audience for a politically motivated photo opportunity? Doesn't get much more phony than that... The recently deceased billionaire Ted Forstmann supposedly paid for Columbia Law School with gambling proceeds. I think that's very cool. Think Matt Damon in Rounders if he stayed in school... Speaking of very cool - Satellite Photos Show Ancient Saharan Fortresses of a Lost Empire... Call me old school but I think baseball should be played without the DH and condoms should be made out of lamb's intestines - just like God intended.

Flotam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I blame myself for yesterday's Patriots loss to the Jets. Everything was going great for New England until just before halftime I Tweeted, "8 days from now Rex Ryan's record as head coach will be 11-11. Just a .500 coach - that's all he'll ever be". Bam! The jinx was on. I apologize... 24 Cool College Landmarks... Scary thing about Michigan's close call vs UMass is not only is UMass 1-AA but they were also picked to finish just 5th in their conference... I am not on Facebook and probably never will be. Here's an article that helps explain why... Jose Bautista's explosion of power this year is prompting Joe Posnanski (along with Bill James) to examine the greatest jumps in HR numbers by a player in baseball history. In my mind that has to be Wade Boggs who in 1987 hit 24 HR. Boggs had never hit more than 8 in a season. The next year he hits just 5 in 52 MORE plate appearances. Boggs never approached 24 again... I still think Rex Ryan is nothing but a .500 coach. I don't apologize for that... I'll be watching Boardwalk Empire religiously. A good book if you want to know more about this period of time and the rise of gangsters due to prohibition is The Big Bankroll: The Life And Times Of Arnold Rothstein... Jose Bautista had hit 16 HR in a season so his output this season is just over 3 times his past performance. The reason Boggs should be the number 1 in HR frauds is Boggs tried not to hit HR. He said he hit the 24 just to prove he could do it. Can you think of any player in baseball history who tried not to hit home runs?... Interesting - why the head of a beer, no matter the kind, is always white...

Marcus Camby Inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame

Marcus Camby was inducted in the UMass Hall of Fame. I have no problem with this. Camby was one of the five greatest athletes to ever attend UMass (Dr. J being by far the number one). Yes - his dealings with agents did cause UMass to vacate their 1996 Final Four appearance but it should be noted that the money UMass had to return to the NCAA for that appearance - Camby paid back to the school out of his own pocket.

I don't blame a poor kid falling into the clutches of an agent. I more blame the NCAA who makes millions off the sweat of poor kids like Camby while hypocritically extolling the virtues of amateurism and student athletes. Let the NCAA officials work for housing, food and clothing allowances instead of high six-figure salaries and then I'll give credence to their high mindedness.

All NCAA TV revenue should be taxed. There's no doubt in my mind.