Red Sox Snap Win Streak at 15 Games Tying Club Record Set in 1946

Well, all things must come to an end.

The Boston Red Sox snapped a 15-game winning streak during the second game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles falling 5-1.

But the Red Sox have nothing to be ashamed of because their 15-game winning streak tied a club record originally set in 1946 when they won their first AL pennant in 28 years. 

Of course, there are some differences between the 1946 Red Sox and the 2026 Red Sox.

When the 1946 Red Sox had their 15-game winning streak it was near the beginning of the season. During the streak which lasted between April 25th and May 10th, the Red Sox improved to 21-3 giving them a 5½ game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League. Boston would win 104 games and finish 12 games ahead of the 1945 World Series champion Detroit Tigers and 17 games ahead of the Bronx Bombers. The Red Sox would fall short against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series losing in 7 games due to Enos Slaughter's mad dash home.

The 2026 Red Sox had to scrap just to get to this point and have a lot more scrapping to do. Exactly four weeks ago, the Red Sox had the worst record in the American League. In four weeks, the Red Sox have gone 20-3 and are now have possession of the third AL Wild Card berth. 

Nevertheless, their record stands at 52-49. They could regress and lose 7 of their next 10 games and end up sellers at the trade deadline. On the other hand, the Red Sox will be facing struggling clubs in the Toronto Blue Jays and Athletics before having to face back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers. In which case, Boston could win 7 of its next 10 games and be more firmly ensconced into the AL Wild Card berth and even move up in the AL East standings and knock on both the Yankees and Rays' doors. 

Let me put it another way. Back in 1946 there were no playoffs. Just the regular season and the World Series and a 52-49 record was unlikely to lead to a pennant. We live in far different times where it concerns baseball and a lot for worse. 

But as far as the Red Sox go, things are looking better in these times. What a difference four weeks makes.

The Media & Voters Should Give El-Sayed More "Non-Consensual Colonoscopies" (re: Ask Tough Questions)

Over the weekend, Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed got into a kerfuffle with ABC News' Jake Tapper after Tapper noted that El-Sayed had told his supporters that many people in Dearborn were saddened by the death of the Ayatollah Khamenei.

To be precise, back in March, El-Sayed wanted to avoid making any public comment about Khamenei's death noting "there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad" about the Ayatollah's death.

Tapper raised the matter with El-Sayed who did not respond kindly:

Tapper: I thought that quote was interesting because the ayatollah has killed tens of thousands of innocent Iranians, not to mention the proxies that Iran has funded that have killed innocent civilians all over the Middle East. Why were you worried about offending people who support the ayatollah?

El-Sayed: Jake, on a day where we’re mourning the loss of two more service members in a war we never should have fought, I think all of us ought to step back and ask whether or not everybody in Michigan — frankly, everybody in America — shouldn’t be sad about the fact that this president, backed by the prime minister of a foreign government, took us to a war we had no business fighting in.

Of course, El-Sayed didn't want to answer the question. So, he pretended to care about our soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty in "a war we never should have thought" "backed by the prime minister of a foreign government." Of course, our soldiers don't get to pick and choose the battles they fight. El-Sayed is just using the fallen soldiers as a cudgel to bash the U.S. and Israel. He is quick to decry Netanyahu as being part of "a foreign government" but what does that make the Ayatollah?

Following the interview, El-Sayed complained about Tapper giving him "a non-consensual colonoscopy."  Clearly El-Sayed is unaccustomed to tough questions and cannot handle them. If that is the case, then he why be a candidate for the U.S. Senate? Tough questions come with the territory. If all El-Sayed can do is whine about it then he is clearly in the wrong line of work.

In which case, the media should give El-Sayed more non-consensual colonoscopies. Voters should too. Michigan voters have a right to a Senator who will answer tough questions and not be a crybaby about it. 

However, it remains to be seen whether Michigan Democratic primary voters want a Senator who can answer tough questions. If they don't then shame on them.

Trump Will Always Find a Reason to Threaten Canada with Tariffs

Different day, same old shit!!!

President Trump announced that a 50% tariff would be imposed on Canadian alcohol, dairy and auto parts in 30 days' time because America has been "invaded" by Canadian wildfires. 

But if Trump wasn't ranting about wildfires, he would be ranting about something else.

Trump first announced 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico before he returned to the White House in November 2024. He would back away from those commitments in February 2025 but then implemented much the tariff regime by the following month.

Trump has suspended trade talks on multiple occasions. He did so in June 2025 in protest of Canada's Digital Services Tax. The Carney government scrapped the DST only for Trump to threaten additional tariffs weeks later. Trump suspended trade talks again in October 2025 because of ad run by the Ontario government with the late President Reagan waring about the dangers of tariffs. Carney subsequently apologized for the ads. Fat lot of good that did him.

In January, Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs if Canada entered into a trade deal with China despite having encouraged such an agreement only days earlier. 

Earlier this month, Trump refused to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) although USMCA talks have now resumed with Mexico.

Of course, Trump might very well lift these levies at the last minute only to threaten to impose new levies a few months down the road. Trump might also very well include Canada new USMCA talks only to cut them off yet again. Indeed, Carney says trade negotiations will be intensified with the U.S. Yet it is only a matter of time before Carney's Charlie Brown tries to kick the football only for Trump's Lucy to snatch it away from him.

Trump does this because he does not negotiate, let alone govern in good faith. He treats Canada like the workers and small businesses he refused to pay in his business dealings. Like I wrote back in March 2025, "I tariff you; I tariff you not."

Carney's smartest move would be to walk away and ignore Trump and not return his calls. Yes, that will make Trump angry. But Trump would get angry if his Diet Coke was flat. Canada is getting nowhere with the United States. The United States is wasting Canada's time. Canada's time is better spent engaging in negotiations with countries which actually want to negotiate with it in good faith and for mutual benefit not with a country which begrudges Canadians for forest fires.

Anti-Semitism Will Continue to Thrive in the U.K. Under Andy Burnham

Today, Andy Burnham moved into Number 10 Downing Street and is the U.K.'s new Prime Minister only three days after being anointed the new leader of the Labour Party. Keir Starmer might very well be rendered a footnote.

Last month, I wrote about my brief experience with him as my boss when I interned for the late Tessa Jowell more than 30 years ago. I do not remember those days with fondness. 

In the days which have followed, Burnham has done little to inspire my confidence when it comes to Israel and Jews in the U.K.

Earlier this month, he apologized for his predecessor's stance on Gaza. Considering that Starmer recognized a Palestinian state before all hostages had been released by Hamas, this apology is nothing more than pandering to the Far Left and to the Islamists.

Burnham sought counsel on Gaza from former soccer player turned BBC journalist Gary Lineker. Last year, Lineker departed the BBC after sharing a social media post from a group called Palestine Lobby which described Zionists as rats. That Burnham would seek Lineker's advice on the subject speaks volumes about Burnham's attitudes towards Zionism and towards Jews.

Under Burnham's leadership, we can expect more calls for and acts of violence against the Jewish community in the U.K. Should Jews be murdered at a synagogue, community center or on the streets, I'm sure Burnham will say anti-Semitism has no place in the U.K. when in fact it will take place with his tacit approval. 

Consequently, those Jews who can leave the U.K. will do so. Those who remain may see fit to throw in their lot with Nigel Farage. I have doubts about Farage, but if Burnham insists on singling out Israel while being unwilling or unable to combat anti-Semitism, U.K. Jewry could turn to him if he makes overtures Burnham is unprepared to make. Should Burnham lose to Farage in the next general election, he will only have himself to blame though that might not stop him from blaming the Jews.

A Harry Dean Stanton Centennial Appreciation & A Few Thoughts About "Alien" & "Paris, Texas"

 

This past July 14th marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of actor Harry Dean Stanton. In tribute to Stanton, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 91, The Brattle Theatre showed more than a dozen of his films in a retrospective called "The Stanton Rule: A Harry Dean Stanton Centennial".

The Stanton Rule was coined by the late film critic Roger Ebert (who also attributed the rule to M. Emmet Walsh) stated, "No movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in supporting role can be altogether bad."

I only viewed two of those films - Alien (1979) and Paris, Texas (1984) which I did last night and this afternoon, respectively. With that, let me discuss these films in reverse order.

Paris, Texas

Those of you familiar with dispatches will know that Paris, Texas is among my favorite films ever made. I wrote about my experiences viewing Paris, Texas at The Brattle in December 2021 so I won't add too much here. It is one of those films which I will pay to see if it is playing in a theatre. I saw it again at The Brattle in November 2024. It was a Saturday night, and it was the longest lineup I've ever been in to see a movie at The Brattle.

I wish Harry Dean Stanton had been given more chances to be a film lead. Yet with that said, if he had more chances to be a film lead then perhaps Paris, Texas wouldn't be as a special as it is. Stanton had a face you couldn't keep your eyes off of and a voice which conveyed authority when it was heard. At the same time, Stanton could go half a film without uttering a word as he did in Paris, Texas and convey the same sort of presence. 

Stanton's portrayal of Travis Henderson is mostly sympathetic, but we get indications of his cruelty and darkness towards his estranged wife Jane (Nastassja Kinski). While Travis never reverts to that state, he knows all too well that is where he will go should he reunite with Jane. So, he makes the decision to reunite Jane with his son (Hunter Carson) with whom he only recently reconnected and disappear from their lives forever. 

It is not a Hollywood ending but it wouldn't be a Wim Wenders film if it was a Hollywood ending. Indeed, most of us will not have Hollywood endings and sometimes the best we can hope for is to walk away for the greater good.

Alien

Let me begin with a confession.

This was the first time I have ever seen Alien.

Of course, I am aware that this film was Sigourney Weaver's breakout role and I am also aware that an alien came out of John Hurt's stomach and would do so again nearly decade later at the end of Mel Brooks in Spaceballs. But I did not know the story.

It was only the second film Ridley Scott ever directed. Much of the film is very deliberate and quiet with brief interludes of classical music. This reminded me a great deal of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey which I saw most recently at the Brattle on New Year's Eve 2022 in a double feature with Everything, Everywhere All at Once. 

Aliens features a seven-person cast aboard the cargo ship Nostromo starring Tom Skerritt (Dallas), Sigourney Weaver (Ripley), Veronica Cartwright (Lambert), John Hurt (Kane), Ian Holm (Ash), Yaphet Kotto (Parker) and Harry Dean Stanton (Brett). OK, there is an orange cat named Jones.

As for Stanton, Brett doesn't have that much to do in the film as Parker's engineering assistant other than say "yep". His big scene is when he is sent off alone to find Jones on the ship though he does so with his Stantonesque charm making the most of his limited screen time. As soon as he is sent off by himself, you know full well he is going to be eaten alive by the alien.

Ah, yes, the alien. There is a lot of food for thought here though it isn't very appetizing. The crew of the Nostromo is dispatched to a planet where there appears to be intelligent life. Dallas, Lambert and Kane go down to the planet's surface to investigate. During the course of their investigation, an alien life form attacks Kane and clings to his body.

When Dallas and Lambert bring Kane back to the Nostromo, Ripley refuses to let them back in for fear of contaminating the ship citing unspecified quarantine regulations. But Ash overrides Ripley and lets them in with disastrous results which eventually leave Ripley and the orange cat as the only survivors. 

Yet there is no guarantee that disaster would have been averted had Ripley not let them in. While Ripley had an arguable point, I don't think she thought things through. As Dallas and Lambert argued, Kane was near death. Had Ripley refused to allow Dallas, Lambert and Kane into the ship all three of them could have perished as the planet's surface was well below freezing.

But let us suppose that Dallas, Lambert and Kane had survived the quarantine period. It doesn't change the fact that they were dealing with a species of unknown origin. The incubation period could have been well beyond the quarantine. In other words, the Nostromo could have faced the same fate - quarantine or no quarantine.

Even Ripley didn't weigh her choices as she should have, she wasn't faced with a good choice and bad choice but rather several risky choices with no guarantee of success even if Ash hadn't interfered and let the trio aboard. Of course, as it turns out, Ash was an android who had a secret directive to capture the alien and bring it back to them regardless of the crew's safety. Mix this into the equation and the crew of the Nostromo was in a no-win situation. 

Under the circumstances, it is easy to see why Alien held its own with Star Wars in the pantheon of late 1970's space-based science fiction movies precisely because it wasn't trying to be a science fiction movie but rather a horror film. 

Of course, it didn't hurt that Harry Dean Stanton was in the film. It never does.

Spain Triumphs Over Argentina & Other World Cup Thoughts

(YouTube screenshot of Ferran Torres' game-winning goal to give Spain a 1-0 victory over Argentina)

The 2026 World Cup has finally ended with Spain defeating defending champion Argentina 1-0 to win their second World Cup title on an extra time goal by Ferran Torres. Spain previously won in 2010.

Latin America and much of the world were rooting against Argentina for a myriad of reasons - having Lionel Messi, being the defending world champion, being a perceived favorite of FIFA and being the beneficiary of questionable referee calls and just plain old politics. Some of the animus towards Argentina is motivated by anti-Semitism as a sports analyst in Algeria recently claimed the "Jewish lobby" was trying to fix another title for Argentina.

From where I sit, I am deeply troubled by the Spanish government's visceral hatred towards Israel and belligerent mobs running after Jews for being Jews while shouting "baby murderers". Conversely, the Argentinian government wants Latin America to have closer relations with Israel although Jews are in danger there as we are the world over.

In fairness, Spain's soccer team does not represent the Spanish government. There is no question they are the best soccer team in the world. Indeed, Spain conceded only one goal during the entire tournament and that was against Belgium in the quarterfinal. It is the fewest goals ever conceded by a team at a World Cup. Spain has cause for celebration.

The only matchup I watched for any extended period was between Argentina and Cape Verde during the Fourth of July weekend. But with Cape Verde's near upset of the Argentinian squad, I got into the spirit of things if only briefly.

There were certainly some good things about the World Cup which standout.

The first was Scottish fans coming to Boston drinking us under the table until we had no more, cleaning up after themselves and falling in love with the place. I have no doubt the Scots will visit us again - World Cup or no World Cup.

The second was how soccer fans knew John Denver's "(Take Me Home) Country Roads" even if they weren't from this country. Even if people never set foot in West Virginia, most people have an idea of what their "almost heaven" is like. Of course, I set foot in West Virginia last year and now have a first-hand appreciation of what John Denver sang about even if he, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert had never been there when they wrote the song more than half a century ago.

But then there were some not so good things.

There was President Trump personally demanding FIFA overturn a red card suspension of Team USA player Folarin Balogun which they did. His stifling presence loomed today as he presented Spain with the World Cup trophy to lusty jeers from the crowd assembled in New Jersey.

And then there were was the anti-Semitism. Aside from accusations of the "Jewish lobby" trying to ensure an Argentinian victory, there was the spectacle of a fan with an Israeli flag being confiscated while Palestinian flags were permitted during Iran's matchup against New Zealand. Egyptian fans, egged on by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, blamed Jews and Zionists for their loss to Argentina. Things were considerably uglier in The Netherlands after Moroccan fans chanted, “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas,” after their team was ousted by France in the quarterfinals. 

Some soccer fans get their kicks out of hate. Yet I shudder to think what is in store for Jews during the 2030 World Cup.

Former Blue Jays Reliever Duane Ward Dies Suddenly Amid Team Reunion

 

Former MLB relief pitcher Duane Ward, who played nearly his entire career with the Toronto Blue Jays died suddenly amid a team reunion in Toronto this weekend. He was 62.

A native of New Mexico, Ward is only one of 35 players from the Land of Enchantment to play in MLB. In 1982, the Atlanta Braves selected Ward as their number one draft pick and was the ninth pick in the nation overall.

Ward would reach the big leagues with the Braves in 1986 on the Opening Day roster. However, by July, the Braves would ship Ward to Toronto in exchange for veteran starting pitcher Doyle Alexander. A little over a year later, the Braves would trade Alexander to the Detroit Tigers for another pitching prospect - future Hall of Famer John Smoltz.

As for Ward, he did not establish himself as a big-league pitcher until the 1988 season when he became Tom Henke's setup man out of the bullpen. Yet Ward would get opportunity to close out games and would reach double digits in saves each of the next five seasons including in 1992 when the Jays won their first World Series title against Ward's old franchise, the Atlanta Braves.

Ward's best big-league season came in 1993 when he became the team's closer after Henke signed a free agent contract with the Texas Rangers. That season Ward would save a club record 45 games earning his lone AL All-Star Team selection and a second consecutive World Series title during which he saved 2 games against the Philadelphia Phillies. To this day, no other Blue Jays pitcher has ever recorded 40 saves in a season.

Unfortunately, Ward sustained biceps tendinitis which forced him to miss all of the 1994 season. When Ward returned in the 1995 season, it was clear that he just didn't have his stuff anymore and after only four games never pitched again at the big-league level. In 9 MLB seasons, Ward made 462 appearances (all but two games in relief) and went 32-37 with a 3.26 ERA along with 121 saves. Those 121 saves remain second in franchise history only to Henke who recorded 217 in his eight seasons in a Blue Jays uniform.

After his playing career ended, Ward occasionally worked as a color commentator for the Blue Jays on both TV and radio and was involved with the team organizing baseball camps across Canada. In 2020, Ward was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame with his Blue Jays' teammate John Olerud and Minnesota Twins great Justin Morneau.

The Blue Jays held a moment of silence in honor of Ward prior to this afternoon's game against the Chicago White Sox in the presence of his former teammates who will sadly never see him again. R.I.P.