Author: boom booms room staff

Hoping to Change Is Unrealistic

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The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.  So said William Arthur Ward.  We had no idea who William Arthur Ward was, but an avid reader forwarded this quote to us yesterday.

Turns out that Mr. Ward was an often quoted  writer of inspirational maxims.  During his lifespan more than 100 articles, poems and meditations written by Ward were published in such magazines as Reader’s Digest, The Phi Delta Kappan, and Science of Mind.

We had no idea who Lori Lightfoot was either.  Well that is, we didn’t until yesterday.  Turns out that Lightfoot was elected mayor of the third largest city in America, Chicago, yesterday.  In her victory speech late Tuesday evening she said that her election was a “mandate for change.”  She went on saying “Together we will insure that your zip code will no longer determine your destiny.”

Mr. Ward and Ms. Lightfoot on the surface both sound quite inspirational don’t they?

But we wonder, as a realist, if a mayor, or a government can insure that you, as an individual, or as a zip code can change as her “mandate” of an election speech suggests.

It was John F. Kennedy who asked in his inauguration speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country.”  Sounds like President Kennedy, who I am sure felt like his election was a mandate for change as well, was perhaps more of a realist.

Reliance on government creates a dependency.  When one hopes someone else will help them, they are dependent.  Once in place, and BBR submits its been in place for far too long, it becomes an entitlement.  Hoping is the first cousin of moping.

But, every two, four, or six years too many people in too many elections run on a promise of change, and hope, and dreams.  As a realist, we wish they would run on reality.

Chicago’s very own, the Reverend Jessie Jackson, while concluding the 1988 Democratic Convention warm up speech before a worldwide audience said “Keep Hope Alive!”  In fact he liked the sound of it so much he said it four consecutive times.  Inspirational indeed.

Hope is but an emotional connection.  Post election reality sets in all over again.  It’s nice to keep hope alive.  It really is.  We all like to dream of better days.

Realistically, however, without action, it gets you as an individual, nowhere.  Sorry to disagree Ms. Lightfoot, but you’ll be in the same zip code in four years if you rely on others.

 

Boom Boom’s Life Lessons #14

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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 resonated in my young, eager eardrums.  How I interpreted or applied it was up to me.  No more words were spoken because no more words were needed.

Growing up, Daniel Joseph “Rusty” Staub was my favorite MLB baseball player.  Born and raised in NOLA, he signed with the Houston Astros for a then crazy 100,000 dollars in the early sixties.  Our family and his were friends.  My dad introduced me to him at an early age both in person and through the TV and newspapers.  I was hooked.

He went on to play in four decades (late 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s) for five teams (the Mets twice), amass 2700 plus hits, and late in his career set a modern-day record for pinch hits.

Growing up my conversations with Boom Boom were plentiful.  Rarely did one occur that didn’t start or end in baseball.  Rarely did one occur without a subtle or not so subtle lesson imbedded in it.

“Rusty went one for three last night Dad.  What’s his batting average?”  “Get a pencil and paper son and we will figure it out,” he suggested.

“Can we drive to Houston and watch Rusty play for our vacation?”  “Let’s sit down tonight with your mom and see if that’s what we want to do this summer.”  “We could go to AstroWorld too!”  “Sounds great son.  It’s a family decision, let’s talk to mom.”

“Why did the Astros trade him to the Montreal Expos, dad?”  “The Astros must have thought they were getting value back son.”  “What does value mean, dad?”  “Value means getting equal or better in return.”

In my teen years, “Why did Rusty turn down 2.5 million dollars over five years from the Mets, dad?”  “He asked for $200k a year for the next 20 years instead Wally.  He is setting himself up for the rest of his life son.”  “What does that mean?”  “Get a pencil and paper and we will figure it out,” he again suggested.

Rusty never held out for more money.  He never had a bad word to say about another teammate or coach. He never got tossed from a game.  And, most of all, he left the game with his head held high.  Over time he became a favorite of many for how he conducted himself on the field, in the clubhouse, and in life.

Happy belated birthday to Rusty!  He would have been 75 on Monday, April 1st, or April Fool’s Day.  But, Rusty was no fool.  He didn’t know it, but he helped Boom Boom teach an eager beaver a thing or two about sports, life, finances, and growing up “the right way.”

It’s great to have heroes in life.  It’s greater to have one that you can learn a lot from.  It’s greatest when you can share that hero’s journey with your ultimate hero in life.

 

 

 

 

Down Goes Biden, Down Goes Biden!

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Yesterday we offered up our four best runners-up for the top five countdown of Donald Trump’s best (from the right) or worst (from the left) nicknames on his road to, and now, as President of the United States.  In the era of “play nice in the sandbox”  The Donald never shies away from a good jab or a right (saw what we did there?) cross.

Today, below, are our top five in ascending order of punch strength.

5.  Low Energy Jeb Bush– The Republican old guard and its committee for election in 2016 mostly had aligned its effort and huge money behind the brother of one and the son of another former president.  Hey everyone, get excited about another Bush!  The problem was twofold.  One, America was screaming for less of the same and wanted a fresh feel.  Two, Jeb’s a nice guy, but Jeb doesn’t exactly energize.  Then candidate Trump sensed all of the above and labeled him Low Energy Jeb.  Republican’s from near and far collectively agreed that Jeb didn’t exactly light up a room.  Soon, he wasn’t any longer in the room.  It was a Trump TKO.

4.  Pencil Neck Adam Schiff–  The newest nickname is only a week old.  It makes its debut at number 4.  We were quite tempted to place it higher, much higher.  It was the impetus for this post actually.  It’s not higher because of the significance of the remaining three, but like a fine wine (or whine if you are Schiff) it will only gain more character with age.  Schiff, Chair of the Intelligence Committee, has put himself on the front burner as one of Trump’s biggest critics.  When one sticks his (pencil) neck out attacking President Trump one might get burned.  No further explanation is needed.  It’s as if a flyweight stepped into the wrong ring.

3.  Crooked Hillary– As Secretary of State under President Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton had a small problem with too many phones in hand, and way too many emails erased.  After Trump stumped his way past Lil Marco, Lyin Ted, and Low Energy Jeb, he focused his energy on the highest office in the land.  Clinton’s Bengazi problem and use of personal technology while conducting official and perhaps top-secret US business was under investigation.  Trump decided that she was guilty, naming her Crooked Hillary.   America, almost silently it seemed, had grown tired of the same old, same old Washington mess.  Jeb Bush had no energy and the wrong last name.  Hillary was labeled crooked and had the wrong last name.  Drain the swamp Trump said.  He hit her right on the nose.

2.  Pocahontas- Like Pencil Neck Adam, we were tempted to put this one higher, meaning number one.  It easily could be.  Elizabeth Warren, senior Senator from Massachusetts, claimed many times in her past that she was of Native American heritage.  She did so repeatedly on college entrance applications and law bar applications alike.  Being a minority helps in such pursuits.  As she rose in recognition and importance the lie, exaggeration, or stretch (however you wish to look at it) grew in stature.  Her outspoken opposition of The Donald caused him to drop the name Pocahontas on her.  Politically incorrect, said many.  Racist said many more.  But, now Warren has had to say she was sorry about that more and more.  With a one word nickname Warren, now an announced presidential candidate for 2020, has a handle that she will struggle to shake.  It’s a shot to the body by The Donald that takes the wind away.

1. Rocket Man–  A ripple of shock rolled through Twitter and the global media when President Trump called North Korea’s Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man” on the floor of the United Nations.  How dare he inflame an already very strained relationship with a dictator who sent a few nuclear test missiles over South Korea and Japan?   Heck, we even heard that North Korea’s capability had reached a range that could target the left coast of America.  Undeterred, on a world stage, Trump pressed on.  Perhaps he knows when he has the better cards?  Two years and two summits later Rocket Man has not yet been completely neutered, but the rockets haven’t glared red in a long while.  And, Trump and team continues to press hard for complete disarmament.  Given what was and is at stake on a global stage, this nickname is the knockout.

It’s only a matter of time before Trump recognizes another exposed chin and takes a swing.   The BBR money is on Joe Biden.  With accusers aplenty, Biden might wear himself out before he ever gets into the ring.  Trump is just bidding his time before he jabs.

Say it ain’t so, Joe.

Mr. Magoo and the Haymakers

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Emboldened by what he called “total vindication,” President Trump took a victory lap after the knockout to Grand Rapids, MI. and back for one of his feel good pep rallies of his base.  The Mueller Investigation findings, though not yet totally released, proves, he says, what he told us all along.  That is, no Russian Collusion.

Some Democrats, like a dog on a bone, won’t yet let go.  One such bow-wow, from the great state of California, Adam Schiff continued his diatribe into the weekend that he knows Trump is guilty and he has proof.  When he became Chair of the House Intelligence Committee in 2019, Schiff made it his personal mission to investigate Trump’s connections to Russia, separate from the investigation by the Special Counsel.  Schiff came under significant fire when asked if he would accept it if the Special Counsel’s investigation concluded that Donald Trump did not collude with Russia.  He stated that he has great confidence in Mueller but that “there may be, for example, evidence of collusion or conspiracy that is clear and convincing, but not proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” as is needed for a criminal conviction.

So, President Trump, once the star of the hit show The Apprentice, took his show on the road.  No apprentice at assigning nicknames to friend or foe, “The Donald” offered a new one in describing the House Intelligence Chairperson.  It played quite well in Grand Rapids, and we suspect it’ll play quite well in red states coast to coast.  Of course there aren’t many red states on any coast really unless you include the Gulf Coast.

So, since he has such an affinity for nicknames, BBR decided to countdown our thoughts on his best (if you are from the right) or his worst (if you are from the left).  The hit list is the same either way.

Many honorable mentions are possible.  We chose four that follow.

Little Marco – Then candidate Trump went from stage left to center stage after just one Republican debate.  He bullied several believed to be serious candidates right down podium row.  Marco Rubio, of diminutive size, took a shot to his ribs, lost his composure more than once, and never recovered.

Crazy Bernie- Bernie Sanders pushed Hillary Clinton much further left than she wished to gain the Democratic nomination in 2016.  The now Prez relabeled “free college tuition” Bernie as Crazy Bernie.  Bernie’s glasses and uncoiffed grey hair could, given a lab white lab coat, come across as a bit out there to anyone to his right.  And we think many are to his right.

Lyin’ Ted- Ted Cruz stayed above it all for much of the Republican campaigning and debating.  As also ran’s ran out of support or money or both, Ted stayed firmly in the race.  Mr. Trump took exception to a few of Ted’s characterizations of him and labeled him Lyin’ Ted Cruz.  Trump trumped Ted in the debates by pulling out the nickname early and often is his rebuttals of Ted’s shots across the bow.  Ted eventually bowed out.

Mr. Magoo- President Trump appointed Congressman Jeff Sessions as his first Attorney General of the United States.  Alabamian Sessions was an early, avid, and outspoken advocate of candidate Trump.  Trump spoke glowingly of Sessions.  He did at least until Sessions recused himself in the beginning stages of the Russian Investigation that led to the appointment of Special Prosecutor Mueller.    Sessions decided to not participate.  He concluded “I should not be involved in investigating a campaign I had a role in.”  Trump denies that he ever called AG Sessions “Mr. Magoo.” Of course he denies any Stormy relationship that turned stormy for him as well.   We think the nickname is too good for Trump to not take credit.  So, we included it here, authorship be damned.

Remember, President Trump says that he never starts a fight, he just counter punches until he ends one.  Maybe.  But, there is no doubt that he’s a heavyweight champion of nicknames.  The one he put on Schiff is a punch straight to his manhood.

Tomorrow we count down his top five haymakers.

They all hit like Mike Tyson.

 

Time to Move

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Four weeks from today the NFL Draft Extravaganza gets rolling in Nashville, TN when Roger Goodell walks onto the stage to announce that the NFL Draft 2019 has begun.  He’ll get booed roundly.  He always does.

Someone else who got booed roundly is the reason why Nashville has the draft spotlight on them this year, or for that matter, more importantly, why Nashville has an NFL team.  Kenneth Stanley “Bud” Adams, Jr. was a founding owner of the old American Football League back in 1959.    Bud’s franchise was the Houston Oilers, located in an oil boom town.  And, soon he housed the team in the eighth wonder of the world, The Astrodome which gave even more credibility to the new league.

As the league grew in popularity it eventually merged with the National Football League in 1970.  His franchise’s value grew considerably on that day.  When he hired Bum Phillips to coach and when Bum drafted Earl Campbell collectively they could do no wrong.  Then Bud fired Bum.  And it got worse from there.

In 1987, Adams threatened to move the Oilers to Jacksonville, Florida unless significant improvements were made to the Astrodome. Harris County, which owns the Astrodome, responded with a $67 million renovation that added 10,000 more seats, a new Astroturf carpet and 65 luxury boxes. Adams promised that with the new improvements, he would keep the team in Houston for 10 years.  Ever the man of his word, Bud kept them in Houston for exactly 10 more years.  His flirting with Jacksonville made Houston leery.  His outright romance with Nashville led to a divorce.

After Adams met several times with then-Nashville mayor Phil Bredesen, they announced a deal to bring the Oilers to Nashville for the 1998 season to a new 68,000-seat stadium (originally called Adelphia Coliseum, now known as Nissan Stadium).  To throw mud in Houston’s eye, Adams successfully petitioned the league to permanently retire the nickname Oilers.

And in 1998, after a year playing in Memphis, the Tennessee Titans kicked off in Nashville.  How could someone abandon the now third largest city for then, little ole Nashville?

It turns out that everyone’s a winner, like on Oprah’s show, here.  Houston got an expansion franchise in the early 2000’s to replace the Oilers.  The Texans are already a franchise valued at well over 2 billion.  They play average football to sold out crowds and sold out suites year after year.

Meanwhile, Nashville has added an NHL team to their burgeoning portfolio of reasons why it’s now a very relevant US sports city.   Amazon’s million square foot office, Oracle’s 800k square foot office, and Alliance Bernstein’s announced move to Nashville has all occurred in the last six months.  That and more makes Nashville a very relevant city period.  Tall cranes, always a good sign, are everywhere.

Maybe Bud Adams had more vision that we could see in the early 90’s.  He bought into the AFL in 1959 for a 50k franchise price.  The Titans are now valued at 2.05 billion themselves.  That was some vision.

MLB starts today.  Maybe the Houston Astros can get to another World Series.  The Astrodome was built for them originally.  Bud moved in afterwards.

Nashville doesn’t yet have an MLB team.  But, with the growth going on in the city some visionary probably has a plan in mind.

It’s play ball in Houston today. It’s Kyler Murray’s name called as the first round first pick to the Arizona Cardinals in four weeks in Nashville.  And, it’s always a good day to boo Roger Goodell.

 

 

It’s One, Two, Three Strikes You’re All Out

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As Democrats come to grips with the fact that the Russian Collusion was only a Russian Illusion, they can at least revel in the fact that the recent Michael Cohen testimony provided ample evidence that the tax evading, disgraced lawyer paid 130k on Donald Trump’s behalf to silence porn star Stormy Daniels.  Michael Avenatti, Stormy’s stand up lawyer, told us that all along.

Of course it looks like the brash lawyer Avenatti ran afoul of the law himself yesterday.  He was arrested for an “alleged” attempt to extort 20 million in loose change from nike saying he had the goods on them improperly paying and influencing amatuer basketball.  And he was going public with the info prior to their earnings announcement if they didn’t pay up.  The good lawyer also has a few tax non-payment problems like Cohen does to clear up.

Much like Trump did for months on end, Avenatti stood up and proclaimed his utter innocence yesterday on the steps of the jailhouse from which he was sprung after shelling out bail money.  Too bad the judge didn’t set the amount at 130k.   Karma is a witch you know, or something like that.

Also claiming his innocence yesterday was Robert Kraft. A not so small problem for him is that the police claim to have video of him in the act of paying for the act and in the act of the act. He pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of first degree solicitation for prostitution.  The prosecutor’s office offered a deal to avoid jail time, but Kraft wants a jury trial in an attempt to be fully exonerated.  There is no quit in Kraft.

Speaking of quitting and or avoiding jail time, Conor McGregor decided to stop kicking and hung up his mixed martial arts gloves Monday announcing his retirement.  This was just in the k(n)ick of time.  Why?  It turns out that Tuesday news broke that a women in Dublin, Ireland accused Conor of sexual assault in a high-end hotel that he frequents.  Conor, while not yet charged with this crime, has had a few run ins with the law.  No comment yet from his camp or Irish law enforcement.

There also has been no comment yet from the very recently engaged, perfect couple of Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez on the stormy allegation  ex Playmate Zoe Gregory dropped yesterday.  Zoe, a Londoner, accused the bloke of sexting her in the weeks just before A Rod popped the ultimate question to J Lo.  Apparently A Rod popped another kind of ultimate question to Zoe as well.  Oh, and he asked her repeatedly if she could bring a friend along for some of the fun too.  So intimate.  The more the merrier for the soon to be married man.

The more the merrier indeed.  Cohen helped Trump who helped Stormy who was helped by Avenatti.  If you are keeping score like we do in sports, that’s two “go directly to jail” lawyers, one Prez, and one porn star.  Kraft and Conor proclaim their innocence.  That’s an NFL owner and a kick boxer who owned his competition.  And then there is J Lo and ARod.  That’s a great singer and a great MLB player on and off of the diamond.   However, off of the diamond he may have struck out one more time.

WWTWT.  What would Tiger Woods Think?

Ten Piece Nuggets-Ramblings Across Multiple Sports

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It’s always a good day to gather around the virtual campfire and roast some tasty nuggets.  In the crisp Spring air it’s even better.  After you digest your nuggets if you are good boys and girls we’ll fire up some S’mores.  But eat your dinner first.  It’s served one at a time below.

  1.  The NFL’s 100th season will open with the 199th meeting between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.  The league announced Monday that it would forgo the traditional opening-night matchup in which the Super Bowl winner hosts the first game of the season on the Thursday of Week 1.  On the surface it sounds like a good story.  Two of the original and traditional powerhouses clash on the not yet frozen tundra to celebrate the league’s now one hundred years of history.
  2. New England, defending Super Bowl Champs, will play in the Sunday night game.  So after the Thursday season opener, and after the dozen Sunday day games, NE is sandwiched in just prior to the next night’s Monday Night doubleheader.  One wonders if this is burying the lead story by the powers that be in the NFL? News cycles being what they are, the Patriots and their owner can only get so much air time and attention paid to them given the window they are placed in.  In other words, did the league not want the Patriots owner’s happy ending story to hover like a pesky cloud over the season’s opening game?
  3. NFL free agency open season signings reminds one of the early Black Friday sales game.  You just got to have this guy at this price and now.  It’s like a doorbuster flat screen TV sale at Best Buy.  Then reality sets in relative to your salary cap and your remaining needs, not wants.  If you are still on the sidelines you might not get scooped up till late summer.  It’s just like the day after Christmas.  Markdowns.
  4. UFC star Conor McGregor announced his retirement from mixed martial arts in a Twitter post in these early AM hours .  The announcement came just hours after McGregor, 30, told “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” that he and the UFC were negotiating a potential return to the octagon as early as July.  It wasn’t that long ago that there was no mixed martial arts made for TV viewing.  It wasn’t that long ago that there was no Twitter either.  McGregor has retired before.  It’s part of fight game lore.  Then, you are lured out of retirement for one more championship bout.  It makes for a better fight story.  Sugar Ray Leonard is holding on line two.
  5. Did you ever watch “Undeniable with Joe Buck?”  It lasted 5 seasons and produced 50 episodes.  It’s a live audience AT&T Universe production.  Each episode showcases never-before-told stories about not only the athletes’ careers, but also their lives off the playing field.   It was, in our opinion, only as good as the interviewees and interviewer meshed.  Joe Buck can/could come across as a smug know it all at times.  After a pretty good five-year run, he has stepped aside.
  6. Enter “Undeniable with Dan Patrick” which is the same show of course with a different host.  We caught our first last evening with Jim Palmer, Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame pitcher, answering Patrick’s question tour of Jim’s career and life.  Jim Palmer still comes across as a smug know it all.  Few are better than Dan Patrick at interviewing in our not so humble opinion.  He has a way of putting the interviewees at ease and weaving through the questions so as to tell a story over time.  Palmer was anything but at ease.  No wonder he never got along with Earl Weaver.  Earl was raw and real. What you see is what you got.  Palmer isn’t.
  7. Palmer’s 268 wins over 19 years in MLB were due in large part to an outstanding career ERA of 2.68.  He only mentioned his 268 career wins five times by our count last evening.   Cy Young’s, World series wins, All Star appearances, and 558 career starts put his value in the marketplace at a one year highest salary of 275k in 1982.  It was good money back then if you could get it.
  8. But today’s MLB world is a bit different.  Of the 872 players on MLB rosters and injured lists as of Monday evening they averaged $4.36 million per annum.  Averaged is the key word.
  9. That average is down from $4.41 million at the start of last season and $4.45 million on Opening Day in 2017, according to AP studies.  Austerity has hit MLB.  Well, not really.  But it is interesting to note that when Mike Trout signs for 23k an inning, salaries in total are actually flat at best.  Yes, it’s 23k an inning as that is what 12 years at 430 million over 162 games each at 9 innings comes to.  Trout will make more after his first 12 innings than Palmer made in his best year.  It’s good money if you can get it.
  10.  The LA Lakers and LeBron were eliminated from playoff contention a few days back.  This isn’t news but ESPN continues to make it news.  Next thing you know they’ll be talking about Lonzo Ball losing 1.5 million as his father and another partner in Big Baller Shoes continue to act like they don’t know what they are doing.  Wait.  They just did.

Get the marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers.  Time for some more S’mores.

David’s Goliath Falls to Goliath’s Zion

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Two years of investigation have come and gone.  Countless subpoenas, several indictments, a few guilty pleas, a trial or two, and still many questions remain as a result.  Millions of dollars on legal fees and ten of thousands of FBI hours got us here.  No, we aren’t talking about the Mueller Investigation of possible Russian Collusion by President Trump and team in the 2016 election.

We were referring to the ongoing broad net that the FBI investigation cast at amateur basketball.  There is still unfinished business on that front as well.  Handlers, assistant coaches, and at least one head coach are still squarely in the crosshairs of the mess.

But, but, but.  But, yesterday, the UCF v Duke round of 32 NCAA basketball game gave us all a chance to get from college sports what college sports is supposed to offer to us.  No, no we aren’t thinking about a brown paper bag of cash.  We were thinking about great stories about great young players on good to great teams that fought each other like Democrats and Republicans.  The proverbial “they left it all on the court” statement comes to mind.

7’6″ Tacko Fall meets 5’6″ CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson

Duke, a three decade and counting Goliath, had all it could handle with the University of Central Florida playing the role of David.  David(UCF) has a Goliath of its own.  If you missed the game you missed a 7 foot 6 inch center named Tacko Fall.  Born in Senegal, he came to the United States as a teenager who was more interested in biochemistry than basketball.  At senior night a couple of weeks back Tacko saw his mother who flew over for the first time in seven years.  He can dunk a basketball without jumping.

Tacko fouled out attempting to stop a Zion Williamson last-ditch effort to will his no. 1 seeded team to victory over the ninth seeded Knights.  Zion will very likely be the first player selected in this summer’s 2019 NBA draft.  He’ll make many brown paper bags of cash soon.  Tacko, in today’s NBA world, has little chance at making a pro roster even though he is three inches taller than any current NBA player.

The plot of the game thickens when you realize that Johnny Dawkins, the now head coach at UCF, played for and starred for Duke in the 80’s.  After a very nice NBA career he went back to Duke and learned the finer points of coaching under, you guessed  it, Mike Krzyzewski.  Johnny’s son, Aubrey Dawkins transferred from Michigan to play for his dad.  And, yesterday, play for his dad he did.  And, he did it very well.  He scored 32 of UCF’s 76 total points.  He was the best player on the court at least for this one game.

In the end UCF lost after a passionate, thrilling, twist and turns ending by a slim one point 77-76.  How a last second tip in attempt stayed out was crazy.

Mike Krzyzewski felt like his team lost even though they won.  He felt like UCF won even though they lost.  He fought back tears and said as much in his post game interview that was filled with platitudes for his players, the opponent players, and his one time understudy, Johnny Dawkins.

Knight fans and Blue Devil fans stayed standing where they rarely sat after the game was long over.  There was disbelief if you wore black and gold, and relief if you wore blue and white.

UCF is done.  Duke advances.  NCAA basketball won and is not done.  It was a great forty March Madness minutes.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-March Madness and MLB

Posted on by boom booms room staff

Fridays are great.  Springtime Fridays are greater.  Weather improves. Days are longer.  Flowers bloom.  And, multiple sports become more interesting.  Oh, and there is this thing called March Madness.  What is it about us knowing so little about so many teams and for a weekend or two we fixate on their stories.  Everybody and every team has a story.  The weekend is near.  And, the tasty morsels below will help fuel your run to the weekday finish line.

  1.  It’s a rather small sample size of exactly one game.  But, if Murray St. plays as well as they did yesterday, the 12th seed could run deep in this tourney.  One of our astute readers is a basketball junkie.  He points out that when you have the second best player in America you always have a shot at winning.  Ja Morant did not disappoint.  He crossed over and then nailed a step back three one minute, and then a bit later he threw down a statement jam.  His triple double led the Racers to a 19 point shelling of fifth seeded Marquette.  But, we found his supporting cast more than up to the task as well.
  2. Florida St. beat a balanced Vermont team by seven.   Florida St. might be ten deep.  They can play big or small and fast or half court.  Yesterday they did both and advanced over a determined Vermont club that drained a strong 16 three pointers.
  3. Which brings us to a Saturday late afternoon showdown between Murray St and Florida St.  Madness indeed.  Today’s play will uncover another surprise or two, but for BBR’s money this upcoming tussle to get to the Sweet Sixteen should be sweet to watch onto itself.
  4. The opposite of this success was Alabama’s lethargic NIT loss at home to Norfolk State.  Former NBA player and two team NBA coach Avery Johnson couldn’t turn the Tide around on the hardwood.  When you have an office in the same athletic department as Nick Saban going to the knitting tournament doesn’t promote job security.   Losing at home to Norfolk St. is the final ball of yarn.   A buyout conversation is underway.
  5. Which brings us to Alabama’s basketball future.  Shouldn’t we expect them to try to shoot for the moon with their next hire?  The football program was, is,  and will continue to be a cash cow.  Why can’t a football powerhouse also be a basketball powerhouse?  LSU made a run at just that.  The problem is they paid for the coach who might have likely paid for the players too.
  6.  Which brings us to baseball.  The LA Angels made some noise. They hooked Mike Trout with 430 million George Washington’s for a dozen years to effectively ensure that he puts it on the line for his one and only team for the entirety of his career.  If you project his career totals, as analytic geeks do every day, his stat pile will put him onto a very short list of the best baseball players ever.  Ever.  Like Willie Mays ever.
  7. In this same noisy window of time the Seattle Mariners and the entire country of Japan said goodbye to a hitting machine named Ichiro Suzuki who spoke softly and carried a lethal wooden stick.  Ichiro was a 10-time All-Star in the majors. He had 3,089 hits over a 19-year career in the big leagues after having 1,278 while starring in Japan. His combined total of 4,367 is a professional record.  His hit stat pile puts him onto a very short list of best hitters ever.  Ever.  Like Pete Rose ever.
  8. ESPN, who we like to bash for a variety of reasons, put out a cool “untold stories” article on Ichiro.  You can read it here.  There are six parts to the quick read, and his exchange with the impatient Lou Pinella is the first one.  Ichiro was a rookie, and Pinella wanted more out of him.  Turns out, all Sweet Lou had to do was ask.
  9. Meanwhile the Houston Astros decided to get ahead of the Alex Bregman train before it left the station.  The confident 3rd baseman hinted that the Astros should be willing to pay a bit more for his services after just two and a half years in the bigs.  His performance last year both at the plate and in the field put him right into the MVP conversation for the American League.  The Astros own him for the 2019, 2020, and 2011 seasons for cheap.  Rather than slow play it, they put 100 million on the table for six years.  His agent decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth.  Bregman could possibly fetch more elsewhere for years 4-6 of the deal offered.  Or, he could get hurt and never live up to his end.  In the end the deal sounded good to both parties.
  10. Which brings us back to basketball for our last tasty nugget.  Today’s NCAA action will bring upsets.  In a one and done scenario the longer the dog stays in the game the more they feel free to bark.  Ducks don’t bark, but watch out for Oregon as a very spry 12th seed facing the Badgers of Wisconsin.  We’re going to watch carefully and if Charles Bark(ley) picks Wisconsin to win, we are putting at least three wooden nickels on Oregon.

Enjoy the weekend and the Madness.

 

Can Lightning Strike Your March Madness Picks?

Posted on by boom booms room staff

The national Powerball Lottery jackpot hit $560 million last evening.  Did you win it? The odds were long.  If not, you have another chance at fame and fortune starting today.  Did you fill out your NCAA March Madness Tournament Challenge bracket?

Warren Buffet, who is of some fame and fortune himself, is offering his 400k employees a chance at a million bucks a year for life if they “just” correctly predict the Sweet Sixteen this year.  The calculated chances of that are roughly one in a million.  So you’re saying there is a chance!

That chance is far better than his recent years of bracket challenges when everyone was invited to play for the same payout.  But, then you had to have an entry that stayed clean for all 63 games of the 64 team tourney field.   The chance of that was a not so reasonable 1 in 9.2 quintillion.  How much is a quintillion? It’s one billion billions, or a one followed by 18 zeros. Or, if you are a visual person it’s 1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000.   Makes the nation’s debt look pretty manageable, doesn’t it?

Need inspiration, do you?  Early March madness occurred on March 8th when what may be the greatest parlay wager ever to hit at a U.S. sportsbook was placed.   A bettor at a Vicksburg, MS casino placed a $25, 20-leg bet that paid $104,412.44.  The parlay featured point spreads, money lines and over/unders on a mix of Friday night NBA and college basketball games. The bettor backed 14 favorites, three underdogs, and three overs. Every single one hit.  So you’re saying there is a chance!

If you haven’t filled out your bracket yet, you still have a few hours before the first jump ball is tossed up.  March Madness actually ends when one team cuts down the nets in early April.  You know what April brings don’t you?  Showers.  April showers bring, of course, May flowers.

Oh, and if your bracket is still holding up then, you should stay indoors.  One of those showers could bring lightning.  The chances of getting struck by lightning are about 1 in 300,000.  So you’re saying there is a chance!