Ten Piece Nuggets-Life

Posted on August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 by boom booms room staff

Like Joe Biden, the BBR staff took the last several days off for vacation. Biden went to Camp David, while BBR went through the deep and mid-south on a trip to nowhere. Nuggets await you.

Speaking of a trip to nowhere, American citizens yesterday were told in writing as a response to their formal request to be airlifted out of Afghanistan, and reinforced by a noncommital verbal answer from Press Secretary Jen Psaki, that their exit from the tumult could not be guaranteed by 8/31 nor guaranteed that it could be done safely. The words shameful and pitiful come to mind.
Has anyone seen the most unpopular VP in decades recently? Anyone? Maybe the official Border Fixer Czar is toiling down on the Rio Grande? Buehler?
The USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy are being prepared for deployment “as needed to assist potentially overwhelmed communities with acute patient care,” Jonathan Rath Hoffman, assistant to the defense secretary for public affairs, said during a news conference today at the Pentagon. Actually, that was on 3/18/2020. Do we need them again? Actually, we didn’t need them then. So far no governors, including the ones from California and New York that asked 17 months ago, have inquired.
Of course, those two might be too busy seeking their own comfort and asking for mercy for other reasons. The NY governor resigned a week ago after claiming that his Italian heritage was partially to blame for his inability to keep his hands and thoughts to himself. The Cali gov is taking on water in a recall election and may need his own lifeline.
What is going to be needed to assist potentially overwhelmed communities with acute patient care is progress on vaccine compliance. And, we aren’t speaking on the need for all to get jabbed a time or three. We’re speaking of the state, local, or medical community’s insistence on health care workers getting poked, poked, and poked. The backlash is real, growing, and about to explode. Doctors and nurses, like Intel chips and potato chips, will soon be in even shorter supply in certain areas of the country as they walk out, quit, or move.
If a nurse wants to move to Phoenix one hospital chain announced opportunities that pay $5,500 per 48-hour workweek starting immediately. You read that right. If you like your nurse you can keep your nurse. Not. It’s estimated that between 70-75% of the medical professionals in NY are or plan to get vaccinated. It’s a dry heat.
One baseball adage is that the baseball always finds the weak link on the team. Gas prices, border crisis, crime waves, Afghanistan missteps, etc. Hey, how’s the covid thing coming along? Oh, it’s not Biden’s fault? Of course, it isn’t. Back then it wasn’t Trump’s either, but the media put it on him and he put some of it on himself. Now, it’s the Republicans who won’t mask up, or needle up. Or, the media just calls it Texas and Florida. It’s never too early to start discrediting DeSantis, is it?
How will the narrative metastasize when the northern states go back to school (and the weather sends everyone indoors more often) and they light up as well? Queue the “we need all Americans to get a booster” battle cry. If one was good, and two was better, a third will make it best. You can expect the CDC to announce any day now that anyone who got shot #2 more than eight months ago should get a booster.
What percent compliance is reasonable to expect for a third shot? The guess here is that no more than half of the vaccinated will go the booster route. So while the noise loudens for complete vaccination, will the noise crescendo against it simultaneously?
How will those states, counties, and cities that will require a vaccine passport enforce it? If you have a two-shot vaccine passport it’s good till eight months after your last shot? It will be like walking into a 7/11 store. “You must be born after 8/18/2000 to be able to purchase cigarettes.” Maybe CVS can start stamping the passport like when you leave for France. All aboard.

Buckle up. The fun is just starting.

Deep Breaths

Posted on August 10, 2021August 10, 2021 by boom booms room staff

Back in the Stone Age, the word humdinger got a lot more run than it does today. Have you never heard that word used?

Humdinger defined is a noun used to describe a remarkable or outstanding person or thing of its kind.

Baseball is a sport that some critics think still operates in the Stone Age. But, give baseball fans, players, managers, and reporters credit for slimming down humdinger into a catchphrase for a home run. They call them dingers.

In Denver, the air is a “mile high.” So, dingers were flying towards Aspen with great regularity from the very start of the Colorado Rockies franchise. In fact, they did so often that the franchise birthed Dinger, the Rockies Mascot, based on a triceratops – an herbivore dinosaur species that lived in the area, as evidenced by the several triceratops fossils found in the region.

Dinger made his debut on April 16, 1994, at Mile High Stadium. Like the legendary San Diego Chicken, Dinger made his official debut by being hatched. At the game, fans were told that an egg was found during the construction of Coors Field, and a grey egg was seen on the field. Two “doctors” were seen attending to the egg when it began to hatch – and thus Dinger was born.

But on Sunday, some 27 years (or roughly 2240 home games later) when a fan sitting not too far from home plate nor too far from the broadcast’s field microphones repeatedly yelled the mascot’s name to get his attention, he got the entire on edge world’s attention.

Miami Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson stepped up to the plate in a game between two very below-average teams. Brinson is African American. And for viewers and some Rockies officials, the call for Dinger sounded like the worst racial epithet of all, the n-word.

No Marlins, including Brinson, said after the game that they had heard any of this. But, one of the Rockies broadcasts did pick the shouting up, and the disgusted Rockies Organization sprung into action as you see below.

Monday Brinson said he had watched the replay “like 50 times in the last 15-16 hours” and believes he does hear the n-word.

And predictably the twitter world, the players union, and the media ran with the story.

Some of the best, or worst follows.

1. @JessBlaylock

I proudly stand WITH Lewis Brinson, who is one of the kindest, hardest working, genuine people you’ll ever have the pleasure to meet. I firmly stand AGAINST hatred, intolerance, ignorance, and the disgusting behavior that was exhibited earlier today. We have a long way to go!

2. MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark said in a statement on Sunday night that ‘we have to continue to work together to ensure that racism is never tolerated on or off the field.’‘While many are truly committed to respect and equality for all, the abhorrent racial animus displayed today highlights that there is still much work to be done,’ he said.

3. By BBR’s count, no less than 15 major US media outlets ran with the wrong side of the story by Sunday PM. There were the usual suspects like the New York Times, ESPN, Newsweek (who knew they still existed, we digress), and CBS amongst others.

Multiple fans seated in the section stated that the fan was shouting from contacted the Rockies to clear the misunderstanding. By early Monday morning the Rockies Organization, in cooperation with the broadcast by AT&T Sports and section ushers corroborated the multiple nearby fans’ version. Dinger it was. And, the earth could resume spinning on its axis.

The Marlins traveled to San Diego and played the Padres on Monday. Believe it or not, a resilient Brinson homered in the game. We doubt that anyone in the stands dared to call it a dinger though.

This brings us to the fate of Dinger, the mascot. Apparently, the Rockies received calls Monday to dump the name as it’s too close to the hated slur.

This is no joking matter. And, while we are on that matter, jokes can no longer be called zingers, either.

Roy Rogers’ horse would be in a world of hurt/hate right about now.

Who knew that for 27 years and 2240 or so ball games that the organization and its fans were walking such a tightrope. Surely someone has yelled out Dinger’s name once or twice before?

No charges will be brought against the fan. Duh.

And for 48 hours the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves got a reprieve.

We do indeed have a long way to go!

Inhale, exhale.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on August 6, 2021 by boom booms room staff

Time to lighten it up a bit with the “you know what” hanging heavily on our minds again. Have an order of Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports to kick off your weekend early. As usual, no two are alike and the heat comes at you from any direction.

Bill Belicheck need not worry about his financial future. But, after football, he clearly has a shot at tv work if he wishes with that ebullient personality. Not. And weather might be his thing. Here’s his quote from training camp yesterday. “Looks like the field will be wet. If it rains, it rains. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. If it’s hot, it’s hot. If it’s not, that’s what it is.”
How did Green Bay get petulant Aaron Rodgers back for 2021? They promised to trade him after the season if that is still his desire. The marriage counselors have five months to patch the thing back together. One thing seems certain. Either Rodgers or GM Brian Gutenkunst is a goner.
The Steelers and the Cowboys kicked off season 2021 last evening in the Hall of Fame game. Did you watch it? Why? Steelers 16-3. You won’t remember who played by Monday, or sooner.
If you did watch you learned that after 25 years of separation it looks like Jerry Jones and Jimmy johnson might be mending a fence or two. Jones took significant blame for their breakup saying that it was on him to recognize and manage around what the duo had going at the time. He also promised to add Jimmy to the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor before too long. Johnson retorted during the conversation with “When I’m still alive?”
Viking’s QB Kirk Cousins vowed to encase himself in plexiglass if needed to ensure his availability to lead the Minnesota team this year while staying away from Covid protocols. Cousins is unvaccinated. The Washington Post reported that the Vikings have the league’s lowest vaccination rate at 64.5% of players fully vaccinated. Tsk. Tsk.
Kevin Durant and Jrue Holiday didn’t just break Australia’s spirit in the Olympic semifinals — they lifted the entire U.S. men’s basketball team up around them in a brilliant performance that led to a 97-78 victory after trailing by 15 in the first half. They gained a berth in Saturday’s gold-medal game. Did you watch it? They’ll meet the French who pulled off a stunning late rally for an 83-76 upset of the Americans two weeks ago.
Did you know that the Toronto Blue Jays are a team loaded with players who had or have relatives in the big show in the past? Cavan Biggio is the son of Craig. Bo Bichette is the son of Dante. And, of course, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the son of Vlad Sr. But, there’s one more. Lourdes Gurriel is the brother of current major leaguer Yuli Gurriel. Genes.
Vlad Jr. leads the bigs with a 1.061 on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS). That’s really good, but only good enough to rank 169th all-time for a single season. Who had the best single-season ever? Barry Bonds owns the top two spots with a 1.40 and 1.38 back in 2004 and 2002. Babe Ruth owns an incredible 7 of the top 15 years of all time. And rest assured the only juice Babe was on he drank.
Who has the shortest odds to get to the World Series as this AM? The Dodgers are even money to advance in the NL. It’s odd odds, if you will, as the SF Giants lead that division by four games. Vegas knows. In the AL, it’s the Houston Astros at +165. BBR sees value in San Diego in the NL at +470 and Tampa Bay in the AL at +430.
They have built it, and they will come. And, they are getting throwback dressy for the shindig. Ahead of the “Field of Dreams” game in Iowa on Aug. 12, the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox unveiled their 20th century inspired team jerseys for the first-time special event. The Sox ones are cool and way old school. The Yankees look like the same old same old.

Enjoy the weekend. BTS is near.

OJ and Graham Got Jabbed, Twitter Got Clicks

Posted on August 3, 2021 by boom booms room staff

The combined most famous and infamous athlete to walk the earth, Orenthal James Simpson, posted a 48 second Twitter video yesterday. On it, he used a seat belt analogy to support his plea for all of us to get vaccinated. It saves lives. Oh, the irony. O.J. even expressed his (and our) displeasure of having to wear masks.

And, all of that is what is wrong with the ease and access that one and all have to social media.

But, what Twitter giveth, Twitter can taketh. Check out the feedback that The Juice got below if you dare.

If you’re not into cringe-worthy or dark humor, now might be a good time to hit the small X in the top right corner of your computer screen. If you like to poke the vaccine bear and/or OJ times two, read on. A handful of comments follow.

If there is anything this guy will not tell you the truth about, it’s getting jabbed.
Fun fact: Nicole and Ron weren’t vaccinated. Look how it turned out for them.
If OJ is taking time out from looking for Nicole’s killers on the golf courses for a little advice about your health, you better listen.
If the mask don’t fit…………….
OJ with the needle in the CVS (Clue).
Listen up. This guy knows how to survive a life-threatening situation.
Well done. He cuts right to the point.

Meanwhile Senator Lindsey Graham, fully vaccinated last December announced via Twitter that he tested positive for the virus yesterday after spending time on a houseboat with other vaccinated senators.

Kate Coyne-McCoy, the chief strategist of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, faced swift criticism late Monday over a tweet about Sen. Lindsey Graham’s COVID-19 diagnosis.

Coyne-McCoy took to Twitter and posted, “It’s wrong to hope he dies from Covid right? Asking for a friend. #COVIDISNOTOVER #LINDSEYGRAHAM,” she posted.

The floor gets lowered daily.

Luckily for Graham, his symptoms are mild. He will self-quarantine for 10 days and a full recovery is expected.

Twitter banned Trump. It’s banned others. Is it asking too much for it to ban itself?

We wonder if humankind will ever rebound from the depths that social media has taken us.

Gov Ron Talks Green

Posted on August 2, 2021August 2, 2021 by boom booms room staff

Getting a head start on a 2024 Republican presidential nominee run, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis didn’t have enough time to stop by the CNN World Headquarters yesterday. But if he did, our guess as to how the Q and A would have gone on one subject that the left incessantly brings to the fore follows. He gets right to the point for a politician, thankfully.

Governor DeSantis, do you believe in climate change? And, if you do and are elected, what do you plan to do about it?

I do believe in climate change and I have my entire life.

Have you ever visited Sedona, Arizona? First of all, you should. Sedona is absolutely beautiful. It’s a well-kept American destination secret that should be on your bucket list. Sedona has elevation changes in the many thousands of feet. The desert mountains rapidly change color as the sun sets. But millions of years ago, there were no mountains there. An amazing fact is that the mountains are all quite flat on top because they were actually the sea bottom then. The entire area was 100’s of feet underwater. There was no desert there. In fact, there was no Sedona. The earth continues to evolve, we’re just uninvited guests sitting on it.

It’s remarkable and but one example of the fact that the climate has always been changing and always will.

Oh, and the sun is actually cooling a bit every day as well, but thankfully for us, it’s going to run pretty hot for a long while.

But, we’re talking about global warming, and Miami falling into the Atlantic, and fossil fuel emissions.

Look, let me get this straight. Do you want your government to spend trillions of dollars to supposedly do the job now that our government failed to do in the last 100 years? In other words, tax Americans, or spend money that we don’t have, to fund the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) the U.S. Forest Service (USDA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)?

That sounds like throwing bad money on top of more bad money to way too many agencies. And, you want to offer great incentives to green new deal companies as well? How about we let good old capitalism find its way. If Americans want green they’ll pay for it. Stop giving away money that we don’t have.

Also, understand this. America’s carbon footprint is in the shadow of India and China’s. If you want real change, you need real negotiations with our neighbors who share the planet and belch out several more times the carbon emissions. Without them, any changes we make are window dressings on an open window.

But, Andrew Yang said last year in the Democratic primaries that we are running out of time and might have only 11 more years to save the planet.

Yang doesn’t know any more than Al Gore does. Al Gore said the same thing 30 years ago. He lives in a 7000 sq foot mansion with six ACs. Do as I say, not as I do. Yang wants to give away money and is moving the goalposts. At least Al Gore invented the internet.

What about all of the hurricanes?

It’s August 2nd and I haven’t heard a peep out of the Gulf yet, have you?

It was 105 degrees in Portland Friday.

Did it slow down the mostly peaceful protests? The rioting? Looting?

Um, thanks for the time Governor.

Thank you as well. I’ve got a petroleum-based fueled 737 to catch.

IT Gives Way to MT

Posted on July 30, 2021July 30, 2021 by boom booms room staff

The information age: the time in which information has become a commodity and is quickly and widely disseminated and easily available through the use of television and computer technology.

Ah, those were the good old days. The Information Age seems to have quickly and widely devolved into The Misinformation Age. What’s that? It’s when anybody says anything to anyone and the text, vine, vibe, blurb, tweet, or take takes off as if it has wings and merit.

In fact absorb Dr. Scott Gottlieb’s thoughts on CNBC this early morning as he was interviewed by Andrew Ross Sorkin (anyone who uses their middle name in full has an outsized ego and issues, but we digress). Dr. Gottlieb served as the 23rd Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2017 until April 2019 during the Trump Administration.

Gottlieb said:

He believes that the Delta variant has spread by a factor of 10x greater than what the CDC is reporting in positive case results weekly across the US. In specific terms, that’s a million positive results, not 100k.
He believes that booster shots should have started 3 weeks ago, and acutely so for the elderly.
He expects the variant to spread rapidly to the north as it “likely” has peaked in the south.
He also reasons that the UK is about three weeks ahead of us and has seen their caseloads drop from their top. He expects a similar curve here in the US in about three weeks as well.

Here is what he didn’t say.

He is a paid contributor to CNBC.
He sits on the Pfizer Board of Directors.

While you are digesting that, note that on Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said that localities like Los Angeles County that are bringing back mask mandates are doing so “to protect the vaccinated as well as the unvaccinated,” and to prevent the “unvaccinated or vaccinated people with breakthrough infections from transmitting to others.”

Got that? That’s covering all of the bases.

And, lastly, the job of the CDC just got more daunting. In a leaked internal email it acknowledges the increased transmission percentages by the vaccinated. Somehow it must continue to emphasize the efficacy of the vaccine, encourage booster shots, and acknowledge that vaccinated breakthrough individuals are carrying viral loads equal to and in some cases greater than the positive tested unvaccinated.

Three weeks ago Pres. Biden emphasized that the vaccinated need no longer wear masks. This week Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi began fining those in the House that don’t. Clear enough?

Covid-19 has mutated into the Delta variant. That is info we can trust.

The Information Age has mutated into the full-blown Misinformation Age. That is info that we can also trust.

What to believe? What to believe?

Yesterday’s Questions, Today’s Thoughts

Posted on July 29, 2021July 29, 2021 by boom booms room staff

Questions we had a few. Fifteen actually. That was so yesterday.

Thoughts, we have a few. Today. Five only.

But first a request. BBR management has been actively seeking council both from the medical and legal community with concerns for our loyal reader’s safety. As a result, beginning 8/1 it is our policy that we respectfully must require you to be masked when visiting this website. Advances in internet interaction have reached a point where concerns about the ability of our virtual community to spread the dreaded Covid-19 or its variants are real. Al Gore is both proud and saddened at this development. Thank you for ensuring your safety and the safety of others.

We have a few observations.

President Barrack Obama and his foundation joined forces to promote NBA Africa. In a joint statement, the league and Obama look forward to promoting equality, wellness, social reform, and opportunity on the continent. The NBA took it a step further by awarding the Obama Foundation a minority ownership position in NBA Africa. That all sounds hunky-dory. We wonder when Obama will use the enhanced pulpit (as if he needed an enhanced one) to denounce the NBA’s romance with and of Communist China.
Eighteen Republicans signed on for a $1.2 trillion infrastructure Senate bill sight unseen. The needed 60 votes are there. The bill actually hasn’t even been written yet. The country’s debt is $30 trillion and counting. The infrastructure bill will inevitably have as much to do with pork for representative’s pet projects as it will coast-to-coast infrastructure.
One of our staff members is often asked what the difference between conservatives and Republicans is. The answer in part is that no true conservative would vote for the above measure for a multitude of reasons. Leading the charge is the biggest spending RINO(Republican In Name Only) of all, Mitch McConnell. Lapdogging at his heels are Bill Cassidy, Lindsey Graham, and Mitt Romney. Conservatives should and will vote against these bloviated elephants in their next bid for reelection. Incumbents rarely lose in primaries. We are in rare times.
Since when does a vaccine need to be administered to 100% of the population for it to be effective?

vac·cine

vakˈsēn

noun

a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease.

5. President Joe Biden used a visit to a Mack Truck facility in Pennsylvania on Wednesday to roll up his sleeves and assert solidarity with the workers, telling them “I used to drive an 18-wheeler, man.” He offered no evidence to support the boast. Should we call this a gaffe? Or, an outright lie? Does it matter?

In the movie The Karate Kid, did Mr. Miyagi tell Daniel Son, “wax on, wax off,” or was it “mask on, mask off?” TGIF is only 15 hours away.

Underoos and Boosters

Posted on July 28, 2021July 28, 2021 by boom booms room staff

To mask or not to mask? That is but one of the many questions that the CDC must ask, and answer.

Main St. (we have plenty of toilet paper and Clorox Wipes on the shelves) and Wall St. (new highs on major averages nearly weekly) are behaving much differently than last April 2020. Meanwhile, the CDC, WHO, Fauci, and your ever-loving government seem like they can’t get out of the middle of a busy intersection.

They have a few questions to answer. Again, we might add.

In no particular order, we pose more than two handfuls below.

Do masks really help? No, really help?
If they do why aren’t we all wearing them again right now? Why only the hot spots CDC? Why not the other spots before they turn into hot spots as well?
Should we call the vaccines, well, vaccines? Or should we call them therapeutics? When you hear about needing a booster (3rd shot) after a scant few months you have to wonder. When you hear Pfizer’s initial two doses may only have a 40% retention of the antibodies after only four months you have to wonder even more.
How can pro golfer Jon Rahm test positive six weeks ago, go into quarantine, get fully vaccinated, and test positive yet again this past week? If you trust the tests, which is a whole other box of swabs, then Rahm’s results make you wonder why we test and why we get vaccinated.
Where is the “science” or “data” (the two most overused words on the planet in the last 15 months) that compares positive tested adults’ resiliency to reoccurrence v. vaccinated adults?
Why did Biden campaign against the “reckless way” Trump rushed the vaccines to the market and now blame those unvaccinated for the latest wave? Seems like a mixed message. Also, how can the border be wide open during a pandemic?
Why do those that scream that it is a women’s right to choose also scream at the unvaccinated as if they have no right to choose? If your answer is that they are two totally different circumstances, you may be right and you may be wrong at the same time.
Is anyone working on a better vaccine? We assume that private enterprise and capitalism are always doing what the market rewards, but the noise is quite silent around this. Why aren’t people demanding this and holding the Administration’s feet to the fire?
Is big brother actively encouraging pharma to do so? Are they incentivizing it? We give away billions every day. Maybe we could call it infrastructure to speed it along? Maybe we could call it climate change remediation to speed it along?
Where did the flu go? How did we drop from millions of cases in a year to next to none? Ah, was it because of masks, washing hands, and social distancing that it went away? If so, why hasn’t that worked on Covid-19? More contagious you say? Then why are we doing it in the first place then?
Does wearing a mask on your chin help? Does wearing a mask only to cover your mouth help?
Now that we have a Delta variant and a Lambda variant can a third be far off? Should we publicize the future names now as we do for the hurricane season? In today’s world of equality, half need to be male and half female names. And, don’t forget the acceptable pronouns.
Can anyone make Joy (was there ever a worst first name given relative to the person’s disposition?) Behar close that worthless yapper of hers? Yesterday she said that we should begin to “threaten” those who remain unvaccinated. It wasn’t that long ago that individual freedoms were the ever-present battle cry from the left. It still is depending upon the subject. See question seven above.
If you have a child ages 2-12 will you get them vaccinated when the CDC and the FDA say that the shot or shots are safe? Why?
If you have a 3-5-year-old have you bought the mask that Fauci wants your child to wear to preschool? Crayons, Underoos, lunch boxes, and masks.

Questions, we had a few.

Guardians of Education

Posted on July 27, 2021July 27, 2021 by boom booms room staff

In case you missed it(ICYMI), yesterday the Kansas City Chiefs announced that they will retire Warpaint, their longtime Native American/Indian pony mascot that has roused fans at Arrowhead Stadium since 1955.

If you’re quite young or quite woke you very likely did not need the “ICYMI.” In fact, you might be ROTF that we included it. But if you’re a bit older, or not so woke, you might be asking WTF.

“We feel like it’s time to retire Warpaint,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan exclaimed. “Lot of reasons for that, but we just feel like it’s the right thing to do. So, Warpaint won’t be running at Arrowhead anymore.”

“We’ll continue the conversations,” Donovan added. “We’ll continue to take the path that we’ve taken. As I said, educating ourselves and educating our fans, creating opportunities to create awareness is important.” Perhaps Donovan’s middle initials are PC?

“We made some significant changes last year, which we are proud of and we believe were the right things to do,” he emphasized. Donovan also said that they are still considering eliminating the war drumbeat that opens up home games. Though, opposition to that is high.

Does that matter though if it’s yet another creative opportunity to create awareness? Create, create, and create.

All of this comes just a few days after the Cleveland Indians renamed and rebranded themselves as the Cleveland Guardians.

How did the city that once was so polluted it caught its own river on fire get from the Indians to the Guardians? The Guardians of Traffic statues have flanked both sides of the Hope Memorial Bridge since 1932. Each of the four-winged Art Deco figures sports winged helmets and crowns, and each statue holds a different vehicle to signify “the spirit of progress in transportation,” per bridge engineer Wilbur Watson.

That’s right Indian fans, you now get to cheer for progress in transportation. Go Electric Car, Go! But, stay out of the river.

Meanwhile, back in KC, what’s left to educate us? Maybe it’s time for the nickname “Chiefs” to go.

If the Washington Football Team drops Football Team and actually gets to a nickname, maybe KC could be PC for a year and be the KC PC Football Team. And, a year later they could evolve into the Kansas City Educators as their team president so succinctly told us they were doing above.

Washington, the team formerly known as the Redskins, is down to a scant few choices for nicknames. Could one be the Washington Politically Correct?

Who knew just how uneducated and close-minded we all were?

The Atlanta Braves know.

For now.

NVM.

The Eyes of Texas Are Wandering

Posted on July 26, 2021July 26, 2021 by boom booms room staff

Deep in the heart of Texas hearts have been broken. Now more are about to be broken.

Last season the Houston Rockets and James Harden broke off an eight-plus-year relationship. It had its ups and downs and ended without an NBA Championship. The decision was mutual to part. Weeks later, J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans ended a ten-year relationship. Together they had more down seasons, but J.J. could hold his head up high walking out of the door.

Fast forward to the now, and wow!

DeShaun Watson, the face of an otherwise faceless Houston Texans franchise wants out long term, but wants in short term. Fall camp opens tomorrow and Watson’s headed there. He won’t be there for long as the Texans will send him home to avoid more and more questions about their plans after the tumultuous offseason that Watson has had.

Failure to report would cost Watson a smooth 50k a day in fines. Reporting, then being told you are no longer loved here saves him that same 50k a day. Divorces can be messy and expensive you know. It’ll get worse too.

Persona non-Grata Watson is untradable until his off-field civil and possibly criminal proceedings gain clarity. But that hasn’t stopped the Texans from asking for all of the jewelry in the split. The NFL rumor mill whispers that the Texans have floated that they want 5 high draft picks in exchange for Watson. Marijuana isn’t legal in Texas yet, but the front office might be a bit high with this ask.

We’ll call Watson and the Texans situation a permanent split, final divorce settlement pending. In these inflationary times, those massages have gotten more and more costly by the hour.

And these dysfunctional relationships are even happening at a younger age. Colleges suddenly are breaking up, or at least they are about to. It’s fully expected that the U of Texas and the U of Oklahoma will announce to the Big 12 league offices today that they plan to leave the Big 12 to join the SEC when their contract runs out after the 2024-5 season.

The schools were flirting with the SEC for six months behind closed doors prior to the affairs becoming public knowledge late last week.

Texas A&M liked joining the SEC ten years back. It had the State of Texas’ SEC dance floor all to itself. Now UT wants to break in right in the middle of the slow song. A&M doesn’t like to share the dance floor with Texas. So the SEC and A&M have some hurt feelings to smooth over as well.

The buyout on the UT and Okla Big 12 deals is about 70mil a piece to exit prior to 2025. But, the extra SEC money will soothe some of that pain and ESPN already jumped in to say they can help a bit as well. Friends take sides in divorces.

A story broke this AM that the Big 12 is willing to look past this indiscretion and will offer each of the two schools an additional 1/2 of a tv share. That would turn 37mil a year into 53mil or so for Texas and Oklahoma.

So, for the scorned(Baylor, Texas Tech, Okie St., etc.) the choices at the moment are 1) give up about 3mil a year a school to keep the two tv moneymakers, or 2) look for other suitors. Relationships are built on compromise (read as lack of leverage).

Will it move the needle? Follow the money.

The eyes of America are upon them as the eyes of Texas have been wandering.

boomboomsroom

Author: boom booms room staff