Author: boom booms room staff

Lefty and Shorty-Trials, Tribulations, and Turtles

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Way way back in 1966, or 1967 Lefty and Shorty were the amiable service station attendants.  Well, that’s what they were called back then as every pump was full serve.   Boom Boom interacted with them as they checked the oil, washed the windshield, pumped the gas, and took the money.

Lefty sat to the left of Shorty.  Imagine that.  Shorty sat on the shorter of the two “halves” of the 55 gallon drum. Imagine that.  Each were cut down to size and retrofitted with a soft cushion top.

They were funny. They always had a back and forth to their banter.  If they were alive last night might have gone like this.

Lefty- It’s nearly midnight and it’s cold. Nobody’s buying gas at this hour.  Why are we sitting here?  Shorty- So we can flip back and forth between the impeachment trial and the Kansas St. versus Kansas basketball game.   Lefty- The Senate Trial is still going on at this late hour?  Shorty- Speaking of this late hour I’ve got this last car that pulled in.  They are good tippers. Lefty- Fine.

Five minutes later.

Lefty- You missed it!  Shorty- What?  Lefty-  They tried to hit the man with the chair.  Shorty- They tried to hit Chairman “Pencil Neck” Adam Schiff?  Lefty-  No. No. It was in the game.  Shorty- Oh.  Why did he do that?  Lefty- I guess he was tired of watching his opponent try to drain threes.  Shorty- I thought maybe they were tired of watching Schiff and Nadler obstruct Trump trying to drain the swamp.  Lefty- Jeez.

Shorty- What’s Trump on trial for again?  Lefty- It’s for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.  Shorty-  Obstructing this Congress seems like a good idea.  Lefty- What?  Shorty- Doesn’t Mitch McConnell look like a bug eyed swamp fly that we clean off of windshields all day long?  Lefty- Please.  The irreverence.  Shorty- And Nadler, he looks like a snapping turtle.  I wouldn’t get between him and a late lunch.

Silence filled the air again.  Lefty, after some deep breathing and reflection, and against his better judgment, gave it one more go.

Lefty- What do you think the final outcome will be?  Shorty- It was 81-60 Kansas, remember.  Lefty- NO!  The outcome of the trial.  Shorty- I’m not sure.  The right is screaming “four more years” and they control the Senate.  Lefty- And?  Shorty- And the left is screaming “lock him up” but don’t have the votes.  It seems bogged down like a swamp.  And, America is running out of patience.    Lefty-  I know the feeling.  Maybe the chair will be useful after all.  Shorty- Schiff?  Lefty-  I’ll lock up.

Dear Mr. Crane,

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Dear Mr. Crane,

It’s been a week since MLB confirmed the terrible rumors, handed out the punishment, and you canned Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow.  They say time heals all wounds.  This writer might need more time however as this wound feels like the proverbial “1000 paper cuts.”

Your ownership in 2012 began with the Houston Astros franchise at a low point and it continued for your first few years.  No local TV contract (good Lord) and 100 loss seasons is no way to endear yourself to a city that loves baseball.  But, by 2015 you started turning things around.  Now on TV again (thank the good Lord) you introduced us to Jose Altuve and a manager that look the part, talked the part, and knew how to manage the game and endeared himself to his players.

Soon your GM’s talent evaluations and trades gave us guys named Springer, Correa, Beltran, Bregman, McCullers, and Morton.  Playoffs in 2015, and a near miss in 2016, and a guy named Justin Verlander paved the way for a World Series win in 2017.  Holy Cow the late Harry Caray would have said!

But whispers that your club denied about electronically stealing signs, aka cheating, grew louder.  And, at the end of 2019 they were exposed by a whistleblower willing to be named- Mike Fiers.  Everyone, not just Adam Schiff, knew the name of this whistleblower.  And, a week ago it all came crashing down, and down.

In the late 90’s baseball was rocked by the steroid era.  This writer had an up and coming offspring baseball player who idolized guys named McGuire, Bonds, and Sosa.  “How can they hit so many home runs daddy?”  Little did we know.

It took years and a leap of faith to buy in again.  But, the passion, strategy, and professionalism exhibited by your Astros, our Astros, Houston’s Astros won us over.  They had “it.”

And, now they don’t.  The fall is so much steeper than the climb.

The Astros won it all in 2017, and went deep into the playoffs in 2018.  Your marketing department had a catchy slogan for 2019.  “Take it Back!”  And, it came so close to doing so, losing in game seven of the World Series.  Perhaps the slogan should have been “Steal It Back!,” instead.

For 2020 and beyond the fans might have their own slogan.  “Win us Back!” This time you have local TV, but will we turn it on?  For the climb back is so much steeper than the fall.

Sincerely,

A Disillusioned Fan All Over Again.

 

 

 

 

Dream a Little

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On a day that we pay tribute to civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  many still dream like the good Doctor once did.  Different people dream for different reasons.  We wonder who is dreaming today and what they are dreaming about.

Is the NBA dreaming for higher ratings than they have had ytd?  Yep.  Today they’ll play from morning till night on national broadcasts in hopes of recapturing some lost ratings.   It’s weird that the two top teams in the west play in the largest city in the west, yet ratings are down.

Is Donald J. Trump dreaming that tomorrow’s beginning of the impeachment trial in the Senate is the beginning of the end of this ‘witch hunt” or “hoax” as he calls it?  Sure.  Although, the showman likes microphones, drama, and name calling, so he might enjoy a little testimony from a few folks.  He dreams of getting Hunter Biden and Adam Schiff under oath, does he not?

Is Patrick Mahomes dreaming of his first Super Bowl win.  You bet.  And you might.  The early line has his KC team installed as a 1 1/2 point favorite over the San Francisco 49ers. Mahomes is the best QB in the league these days.  Anyone who sees it differently is dreaming.  He is a defensive matchup nightmare.

Is Jennifer Aniston dreaming of a reunion with one time hubby Brad Pitt?  Who knows?  Does anyone really care?  Really care?   It makes TMZ, People, and the like dream of high ratings.

Is Elizabeth Warren dreaming that people will forget her falsehoods when she asked out loud on the stump Saturday, “How could the American people want someone who lies to them?”  The Massachusetts Democrat spoke to reporters in Iowa on Sunday when asked if it is disqualifying for a presidential candidate to lie about anything.  She didn’t call anyone by name leaving it open to whether she was talking about Bernie Sanders, Donald J, or, perhaps, herself?

If you have the day off, dream a bit if you wish.  It’s not doctor’s orders, but it’s good tonic.

If you don’t, stop daydreaming and get back to work please.

 

The World Championship Game Revisited

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And then there were four.  And after Sunday there will be two.  San Francisco, Green Bay, Kansas City, and Tennessee remain in the chase for the Vince Lombardi Trophy for winning Super Bowl LIV (54). Who might be those two?

SF is a 7 1/2 point pick over GB while KC is favored by 7 over Tenn.  If GB and KC were to advance it would be a rematch of Super Bowl I way, way back in 1967.

Did you know that the first Super Bowl wasn’t called a Super Bowl?  It was known as The AFL-NFL World Championship Game.  It carried that moniker because two bitterly rival leagues had not yet merged to form the NFL.

It was played in the LA Coliseum and the Packers rode a strong second half to win going away 35-10.  The game was awarded to the LA market a mere seven weeks prior to kickoff.  The date of the game was only agreed to three weeks prior to kickoff.

Hank Stram coached the Chiefs.  The man who has the trophy named after him coached the Packers.  That would be one Vince Lombardi.

It remains the only Super Bowl to have been simulcast in the United States by two networks. NBC had the rights to nationally televise AFL games, while CBS held the rights to broadcast NFL games.  Both were allowed to televise the game accordingly.

The players’ shares were $15,000 each for the winning team(GB) and $7,500 each for the losing team (KC).  Many playing in the game had regular season salaries that paled by comparison.

The Packers were led by veteran quarterback Bart Starr who was the top-rated quarterback in the NFL for 1966, and won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award.  He completed156 of 251 (62.2%) passes for 2257 yards, 14 touchdowns, and only three interceptions.  A good QB in today’s game has double those pass attempts, completions, yards, TD’s, and interceptions.

This is also the only Super Bowl where the numeric yard markers were five yards apart, rather than 10 as is customary today.

Super Bowl I was the only Super Bowl that was not a sellout, despite the TV blackout in Los Angeles. Of the 94,000-seat capacity in the Coliseum, 33,000 went unsold.  Tickets were a whopping $12 ($92.18 in 2019 money) for the average seat.

So much for the adage the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Although one does.   Fifty four years later LA still doesn’t support the NFL.

 

 

 

Business as Usual

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It seems like business as usual for the great folks that run Washington DC.  In just the last 72 hours a lot of news (perhaps some fake) has emanated from a district some call “The Swamp.”

Donald J Trump was on the stump in Milwaukee, WI on Tuesday night trumpeting his latest accomplishments.  He even spoke to rescinding some of those silly energy efficient laws that his predecessor put into law.  One in particular would provide a greater volume of water pouring out of the shower head to help him wash his hair.  “But how about the shower? I have this beautiful head of hair. I need a lot of work. You go into the shower…drip, drip, drip. I call the guy and ask ‘is there something wrong with this?’ He says ‘no sir, it’s just a restrictor.'”

On another stage just one state over, the Iowa Democratic Presidential Debate droned on for two hours on Tuesday night.  When it was over the group that encourages inclusiveness, acceptance, and tolerance had a little tiff.  CNN mics captured the following exchange.   “What?” Sanders replied.  “I think you called me a liar on national TV,” she said again.  “You know, let’s not do it right now.  If you want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion,” Sanders responded.  Warren replied: “Anytime.”  That appeared to have irked Sanders who then said: “You called me a liar.  “He added: “You told me — all right, let’s not do it now.”  This all started after Sanders denied during the debate that he ever told Warren that he didn’t think that a woman could win in 2020.  Could Warren be misremembering the event like her heritage, her firing during pregnancy, or her father’s non janitorial occupation?  Nah.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch Nancy Pelosi and her seven or so of her impeachment managers signed the articles of impeachment last evening.  Before the first witness in the process ever testified she said that she was very prayerful and that this is a very somber time for our country. She also spoke to the urgency due to the threat that our president posed to our country. Last evening, after a four week delay in delivering the articles, she was all smiles and handing out commemorate pens to the signers prior to their orchestrated walk down the halls of Congress for the delayed handoff.

And finally, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) called for the recusal of four Democrat presidential candidates from the impeachment process on Wednesday after Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the articles.  She stated in part, “these four Democrats, Senators Bennet, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Warren, cannot sit in judgment of the very President they seek to replace. To participate in this trial would be a failure of the oath they took to be an ‘impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.’

Her words “failure of the oath they took” ring so loudly and often in Washington DC these days that it’s not surprising that you hear them even while under the thick, dirty, boggy water that fills what is known as “The Swamp.”  At least the president has given us more fresh water out of the shower heads to rinse off.

Carry on.

 

One Year

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My how things can change.  A lot can happen in a year.   And, a lot did.  Take a gander at some twists and turns below.

One year ago Alex Cora was getting ready to go to spring training as the manager of the 2018 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.  A year later he is out of his coveted job due to his orchestration of an electronic sign stealing scheme as batting coach of the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros.

One year ago said Astros were unveiling a 2019 marketing campaign called “Take It Back!” After losing to the Washington Nationals in an underwhelming World Series in game seven, the Astros are indeed taking it back.  They are taking back control of their once proud franchise by dumping GM Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch.  Owner Jim Crane said ” they didn’t start the scandal, but didn’t stop it after they learned of it.”

Four years ago, with a year to go before the 2016 election, outsider Donald J. Trump took the Republican Party by storm and flipped it on it’s head.  Joe Biden was finishing up a heady eight year run as VP.

Four years later, with a year to go before the 2020 election, no one in the Democratic Party is doing any such water acrobatics.  “Low Energy” (per David Axelrod last evening) candidate Joe Biden leads but can only muster about 20% of the Party’s support.

One year ago, after dismantling Alabama, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was hoisting the trophy after the National Championship Game.

One year later, after extending their unbeaten streak to 29-0, Clemson stood nearby as LSU’s Ed Orgeron hoisted the trophy after the National Championship Game.

One year ago no one had ever heard of newly signed LSU Passing Game Coordinator Joe Brady.  One year later, after a bevy of offensive NCAA records fell, Joe Brady is onward and upward.  He’s headed to Carolina to be the new OC for the Panthers.  Sean Payton “taught him all he knows.”  Going forward, twice a year,  Brady will attempt to teach Payton a thing or two when the Saints and the division rival Panthers meet.

One year ago the Dow Jones Industrial average stood at 23,909 on 1/15/19.  One year later the average stands at 28,939.  That’s a 5000 point move in one year That’s so good that it’s crazy.  That’s so crazy that it’s that good.

It’s fascinating to look back.  How about looking forward?  In one year could a mayor from South Bend, IN be your president?  Could the Oregon Ducks be hoisting a trophy?  Could the Tampa Bay Rays be the World Series Champs getting ready to go to spring training?  Dow 30,000 anyone?

BBR will keep an electronic eye on it all.  We know where to get some cheap used cameras that used to hang in center field.

Peace Through Strength

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The year was 1980.  The month was November.  The day was the 4th.  That evening Ronald Wilson Reagan defeated sitting president James “Jimmy” Earl Carter to become the 40th President of the United States.  Reagan actually won in an electoral and popular vote landslide.

Some things have changed quite a bit in the last 40 years.  Other things have stayed the same.

Reagan was a Hollywood actor and former union leader turned Republican.  He served the great state of California as a Republican Governor for two terms that ended in 1975.  Carter was a peanut farmer, Georgia Governor, then as the Democratic nominee was elected as the 39th President in 1976.

Can you imagine a Californian Republican Governor today?  Arnold “the Govenator” Schwarzenegger aside there hasn’t been one in 24 years.  Can you imagine a Georgia Democratic Governor today?  There hasn’t been one in 20 years.

Carter was viewed as incompetent and weak in the year leading up to the election.  Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, after a group of Iranian college students who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.  During a daring helicopter rescue effort one of the helicopters crashed into another leaving eight Americans dead.  The attempt failed from the go.

Reagan took office on that same January 20th day of 1981 that the hostages were freed.  Coincidence?  Sam Donaldson, ABC White House reporter, famously stuck his microphone between Marines holding their swords high to create the “roof” along the red carpet as the new President and First Lady strode back to the Capitol Building.  “Mr. President, Mr. President, there is a report that the hostages have been freed.   Do you care to comment?”  Reagan cocked his head as he was often want to do and uttered, “Well, God Bless America.”

Perhaps the Iranians knew there was a new sheriff in town.  He often acted in Hollywood movies as the sheriff who corralled the bad guys.  Maybe they wanted no part in a real life documentary with the same script.   Reagan later coined the phrase “Peace Through Strength.”

And, 40 years later Donald Trump the 45th President, and another actor, warned Iran that any loss of American lives would result in appropriate retaliation.  They decided to cross over The Apprentice’s line drawn in the desert sand.  And Trump didn’t say “you’re fired,” rather, he fired.  Soleimani was dead.  Iran was incensed, or so they said.  Just a few days later they retaliated sending several missiles at American bases in Iraq.  Word is they gave advance warning of the missile strikes and the strikes all but missed their targets.  No lives were lost, but inside of Iran face was saved.

Trump addressed America yesterday and all but said that now was a time to strongly consider peace rather than escalation.  He all but said that as if he read the diplomatic tea leaves that Iran wants no more.  He crowed about the 2.5 trillion spent to bolster the U.S. Military.  Peace Through Strength all over again?

Cali won’t vote for Trump in 2020 like they did for Reagan in 1980.  Georgia won’t vote for the Democratic nominee in 2020 like they did for Carter in 1980.  But Iran, 40 years later, understands that when lines drawn in the sand are in ink, not pencil, that it’s time to stand down.

 

Boom Boom’s Life Lessons #17

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One of the many gifts that Boom Boom gave us was the torrent of quips about how one leads one’s life.   He could say so much by saying so little.   A statement at just the right moment always resonated.  How I interpreted or applied it was up to me.

When my senior year in high school was drawing to a close I visited our guidance councilor for, well, guidance.  “What should I study in college?” I queried.  “Your testing and your grades show that science and math are your interests and long suits,” came the immediate reply.   “You would make a great engineer.”  “Sounds good,” I simply said.

At dinner that evening I proudly announced to my parents that I was going to be an engineer (though I had no idea what that meant).  Boom Boom barely slowed his fork down and said “just find one thing that you enjoy and be great at it.”  Hmm.

Off to college I went and two semesters later I came home and proudly announced that I was switching to the business college, major TBD.  Boom Boom barely raised an eyebrow and said, “just find one thing that you enjoy and be great at it.”  Hmm.

By my senior year in college I was also working part time at a bank’s headquarters splitting time between market analysis and marketing. It was interesting.  “I’m majoring in marketing,” I said.  “You’re getting closer,” he said.  Hmm.

An interview fell into my lap with a major consumer products company.  The position was described as “account executive.”  It sure sounded like selling to me.  Three interview steps later I accepted.  I proudly announced that I was going to work right after graduation.  Sales training, suit, tie, briefcase, Mont Blanc pen, and a company car awaited me.  Boom Boom said, “it sounds like you found that one thing.”   “Go be great at it.”  Hmm.

No more words were spoken because no more words were needed.

Moore or Less.

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So, what is far left documentary filmmaker Michael Moore up to these days you ask?  Well, you’ll be glad you asked.  Turns out that he made what he called an “emergency podcast” late last week.  That sounds very important.

What was it all about?  Well, you’ll be glad you asked.  It turns out that he was trying to save America from violent retaliation from Iran for the American drone strike killing of their chief of terror Major General Qasem Soleimani.  During his podcast he said  “I am asking you to try what Martin Luther King and Gandhi said requires the most amount of courage which is to respond with non-violence,” he continued. “I am asking you to leave this up to me, give me all of 10 months and I and millions of Americans will remove Trump from the White House.”

He actually said “leave this up to me” before he included millions of Americans in the cause.  Do the words “pompous” or “egotistical” come to mind?  Does the phrase “a deranged, bloated sense of self worth” come to mind?

He followed up on Twitter with “I have just sent the Ayatollah of Iran a personal appeal.”   And he concluded ““I recorded and DM’d him a message on my podcast, ‘RUMBLE.’ You can hear it on any podcast platform like Apple or Spotify for free. We need to prevent war, any war. Now. When the Ayatollah responds, I’ll post his reply.”   We wonder when “when” will be.  We wonder if this “need to prevent war, any war. Now” is more of a need for Moore to get more followers on Twitter and increase the listenership on his podcasts.  The need to stay relevant might be the biggest need of all for him.

What’s confusing about the appeal is that just last month, he predicted that Trump would win reelection for similar reasons that he famously foresaw his victory in 2016.  So, a month ago he wanted to remind you that he called the 2016 victory and that he was calling it again for Trump.  Now he wants the Ayatollah to hold off and “leave th is up to me” and a few million of his friends.

Moore is an avid, even rabid, supporter of “Crazy” Bernie Sanders.  Isn’t that crazy?  It is Moore or less.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Football and Not, America and Portugal

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It’s time to get your head straight.  It’s back to work for everyone today after the better part of two weeks of holidays, sick days, and “use em up, or lose em” vacation days.

Randomly on the menu today is a big serving of NFL wild card weekend, some pop entertainment, increased tensions with Iran, and a golden Golden Globe master of ceremonies opening speech.  Chow time.

  1. Three of four home teams (division winners) historically win on wild card weekend.  Road winners Tennessee, Minnesota, and Seattle made it three of four road teams this weekend though.
  2. Two words of advice for the media and over reacting fans and foes regarding Tom Brady and Drew Brees are “CALM Down!”  Both of them (Brady, perhaps a bit more than Brees) has lost a bit off of his fastball.  Brady was never mobile and Brees looked ordinary in a collapsing pocket yesterday.  But, both of them are the primary reasons why their teams got to the three seed to begin with.
  3. Both of them had fewer reliable weapons around them this year than in year’s past.  Tennessee and Minnesota both saw this and schemed effectively to make NE and NO earn every yard.  Brady wonders where Gronkowski is.  Brady wonders where the NE run game has run off to.  Brees has no WR target that can gain separation besides “Can’t guard Mike” Thomas.   Thomas was targeted 185 times and caught 149 balls because he had to.  No one else gets open.  Kamara was very ordinary due to injury?  Fatigue?
  4. How many quarterbacks in the NFL currently would you take in an open draft over Brees for next year or 2021?  Mahomes? Yes.  Jackson?  Yes.  Rogers? Yes.   Wilson?  Yes.  Watson?  Yes.  Garoppolo?  Maybe.  Stafford?  Maybe.  Prescott?  Maybe.  Everyone else who took a snap this year?  Probably not.
  5.  Four numbers to consider for your lottery card this week are 38,33,40, 26.  That’s how many points the eight wild card teams scored in the four games prior to an additional 3 and 6 in the two overtime games.  If you bet the under all weekend good for you.  All season long the public is enamored with the dazzling offenses on display.  Bad teams give up a lot of points.  They also sit home during the playoffs.  Good teams play defense.  They advance in the playoffs.
  6.  How weak was the NFC East this year?  Very.  Philly scored 9 at home against Seattle yesterday.  Yes Wentz went out with an injury.  Who says with him the would have scored more anyway?  Dallas sat home at 8-8 and is interviewing new head coaching candidates.   The New York Football Giants are a hot mess and have the fourth overall pick in the 2020 draft.  That’s a nice way of saying they finished 4-12 and were the fourth worst team in the NFL.  Washington fired their coach in October and have the second overall pick in the draft.  That’s a nice way of saying they finished 3-13 and were the second worst team in the NFL.
  7. Historically three out of four home teams advance in the divisional round that takes place this coming weekend.  They are the #1 and #2 seeds for a reason.  Having this past weekend off and staying home for this weekend is a big advantage, perhaps the biggest advantage in all of major sports in playoff seedings.  Vegas agrees.  The 49ers are a 6 and 1/2 point favorite pick over the Vikings.  The Ravens are a big 9 point choice over the Titans.  The Chiefs home field advantage is factored into them being a 9 and 1/2 point pick.  And the Packers are favored by 4 over Seattle.
  8. Changing gears Madonna announced via Twitter that she moved her family to Portugal.  She abhors what America has become under President Trump.  BBR says kudos to her for that decision as at least she followed through on her “threat” to leave if Trump was elected.  Portugal is a socialist country, so she’ll get to sample what some on the far left want this country to become.  In fact a Gallup poll taken in May of this past year shows 40% of Americans favor it.
  9. If you missed Ricky Gervais obliterate Hollywood last evening in his Golden Globe opening monologue, it’s totally worth the 7 minutes and 43 seconds of your time to watch.   It’s candid, frank, and funny.  Besides, you need to pace yourself in the workplace in 2020.  It’s a leap year.  You will need to work an extra day.
  10.  Numerous candidates for president for 2020, “media experts,” and the Twitter tweets have taken their turn telling America how bad it was for us to take out the Iranian bad guy Qassem Soleimani.  Joe Biden says “it will drastically increase our prospects of going to war with Iran.”  Perhaps.  But, perhaps the reason our prospects of going to war with Iran increased is because Solemani orchestrated one too many  bombings, assassinations, or IED strikes against Americans and its soldiers?  And, US intel said he was deep into yet another devious plan.  Is it a case of the chicken and the egg?  If so, BBR thinks that Trump has been pushed far enough and he isn’t going to play the role of the chicken in this one.

Speaking of chicken, we hope you enjoyed these nuggets.  Get to work.