Former Socialist, Former Republican, Former Contributor to The American Spectator, Former Resident of Canada, Back in Boston Area After Stints in New York City & Atlanta, Current Mustache Wearer & Aficionado of Baseball, Bowling in All Its Forms, Cats, Music & Healthy Living
Former MLB pitchers and now analysts for the MLB Network Al Leiter and John Smoltz refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As such they are not allowed in the MLB Network studios in Seacaucus, New Jersey. But the two will continue to work remotely even though MLB and the MLB Network have vaccine mandates in place. It would seem some people are more equal than others. Leiter and Smoltz might provide incisive commentary regarding curveballs but they cannot spin their way out of this one. Does the fact Tom Seaver, Jay Johnstone and J.R. Richard all died of COVID-19 mean nothing to them?
Evidently, MLB has learned nothing from last year. Of course, why should MLB be any different than a critical mass of our society who won't wear masks or refuse vaccinations?
I'm still following MLB from a distance and plan to write my August update tomorrow. But the attitudes of Leiter and Smoltz and the MLB Network letting them get away with it makes me want to further increase my social distance from baseball.
The things that we are wanting to fight for, it doesn’t matter if our votes don’t count. Because, you know, if our election systems continue to be rigged and continue to be stolen, then it’s going to lead to one place — and it’s bloodshed.
Of course, the election system isn't rigged and it wasn't stolen and Cawthorn knows it. But Cawthorn knows that people believe these things even if they are made out of pure whole cloth. In conveying this message, Cawthorn is saying the only votes which count are Republican votes, that they are entitled to political power and are willing to kill their fellow Americans to attain it and retain it.
The fact that Cawthorn is not condemned by his fellow Republicans for such incendiary language tells you that they are in simpatico with him or just too chickenshit to challenge this false narrative.
In which case, January 6th was only the beginning. Thing are going to get a lot worse between now and 2026, if not sooner. And we won't know what hit is even though the Republican Party has been winding its fist.
At the very minimum, it just looks bad now that we are once again adding 1 million new COVID cases a week. At worst, it is classic case of "do as I say, not as I do". If elected officials aren't prepared to do what they demand of others then people aren't going to go along with you even if it is for the best.
August 30th is a day that will always stick out in my memory. Forty years ago today, I attended my very first MLB game. It was in Montreal with the Expos hosting the Atlanta Braves. My family was visiting Ottawa and I got to the game with my Dad and maternal grandfather. In those days, there were buses that went directly from Ottawa to Olympic Stadium. It took all of two hours to get there.
I was 8-years old at the time. It was a year before Dad taught me how to score the game. So at this point I was more impressed with the spectacle than the minutia of the game. That year there had been a two month strike which prompted Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to separate the seasons into the first half and the second half which would be of immense benefit to the Expos as they finished first in the NL East in the second half which prompted a playoff against the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Expos prevailed but fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS courtesy of Rick Monday (who was actually my favorite player). The Expos would never again reach the post-season until the Washington Nationals won the World Series in 2019.
But I digress. Back to that Sunday afternoon. I remember that it was a Farm Day at the ballpark and there was both an egg throwing contest and a cow milking contest which was won by Expos relief pitcher Woodie "Farmer" Fryman. Equally mesmerizing was Youppi!, the Expos mascot. He was more Le Grand Orange than even Rusty Staub himself. I reach out to touch his hand and I missed by that much.
There were six future Hall of Famers in this game. The Expos had Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines (then in his rookie season) and manager Dick Williams who would abruptly be fired a little over a week after this game. The Braves had starting pitcher Phil Niekro and Bobby Cox who was at this time the youngest manager in MLB. He would one day become the oldest.
There was also a young outfielder who was a good line drive hitter who had not yet hurt his knees. He would come to mean a great deal to the people of Boston when the Red Sox won their first World Series title in 2004. This would, of course, be Terry Francona.
Then there was Bill "Spaceman" Lee who was the losing pitcher in this game which went 12 innings. Lee gave up an unearned run when Chris Chambliss reached on an error by the normally smooth fielding Rodney Scott as the Braves would win 5-4. As Casey Stengel said, "You can look it up."
Sadly, I have fallen out of love with the game. If I had watched that game today there would have been runner put on second in the 10th inning without earning his way on thereby leading to a cheap victory.
Oh, I still follow the game and keep an eye out on the standings but I don't watch many games on TV or listen to them on radio. The broadcasters aren't paying attention to what is going on the field so why should I? Given the renewed spread of COVID I am disinclined to go to Fenway Park even if it is an outdoor facility. Even without COVID there are too many drunk people not watching the game and getting into fights.
Maybe I'll fall in love with it again. Even if I do it won't with quite the same joy. But I have my yesterdays and a precious few are worth remembering.
It took only six days for the United States to add another 1 million COVID-19 cases topping the 39 million mark. According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 39,048,608 cases of COVID-19 in this country resulting in 638,671 deaths. The summer surge has resulted in a drop in the mortality rate to 1.6%. But death is a lagging indicator and I suspect it will eventually tick back up so long as people refused to get vaccinated.
And, of course, people will continue to refuse to get vaccinated if they insist on taking Ivermectin - horse de-wormer - to treat COVID even though the FDA recommends against it as has Merck, the company which manufactures it.
It's attitudes like this which help to explain why are back to a million plus COVID cases every week. We were looking so good from mid-May through June. But nope a critical mass of us seems determined to let this pandemic continue unabated and effectively destroy ourselves from within. We have let ourselves become a sick country and too many of us don't want to make ourselves better.
Although not a household name, Bushy invented a staple of rock 'n roll. He was also the only member of Iron Butterfly to appear on all six of its albums and remained active with the band through various reunions until health reasons forced him to the sidelines. Bushy's passing leaves Doug Ingle (who wrote "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida") as the only surviving member of the group which played on their signature song. Lead guitarist Erik Brann died in 2003 while bass player Lee Dorman died in 2012. That same year, Bushy's health began to decline and he curtailed his involvement only appearing onstage with the group once in 2018.
First, Charlie Watts. Now Ron Bushy. All in the same week. R.I.P.
Actor Ed Asner, best known for his portrayal of Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the spinoff Lou Grant during the 1970's and early 1980's, passed away today. No cause of death has been released. He was 91.
Asner won an astounding 7 Emmys - no other male actor has won more. Five of them were for his portrayal of Lou Grant while the two others were for the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots.
His passing comes only three months after the death of his MTM co-star Gavin McLeod. This leaves Betty White as the only surviving cast member who (God willing) will turn 100 in January.
Before his success as Lou Grant, Asner toiled in TV for more than a decade making appearances in The Naked City, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, The Untouchables, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Untouchables, The Fugitive, The Invaders, The Wild, Wild West and Mission: Impossible usually playing villains. It worked perfectly for his often cantankerous portrayal of Lou Grant.
Asner would work into his 90's. Typically, he did voice work most notably that of Carl Fredericksen in the Oscar nominated animated movie Up. But he also made guest appearances on shows like Modern Family, Briarpatch, Blue Bloods and Cobra Kai.
Active in left-wing causes and non-profit endeavrs for decades, here is a PSA Asner did in 1980 for "Reading is Fundamental". R.I.P.
When I learned of Rachel Maddow's decision to renew her contract with MSNBC for a reported $30 million I immediately thought of Johnny Carson. Because from where I sit Maddow is to MSNBC what Carson was to NBC.
Now, it's true the content and format of their respective shows is quite different but what Maddow and Carson have in common is that they were both lynchpins for their respective networks and both wanted to work less. Carson had hosted The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson for 17 years when he let be known that he wanted out in 1979. At the time, Carson was in his mid-50's and wanted to slow down. For her part, Maddow has been hosting her show for 13 years and is in her late40's and wants to slow down. Well, NBC didn't want to lose Carson (especially at a time when they were fresh off the Supertrain debacle) just as MSNBC didn't want to lose Maddow.
So NBC gave Carson $25 million a year (roughly $82 million in today's money), reduced the show from 90 to 60 minutes, was on only three nights a week and had 15 weeks off. Carson would remain with NBC for another dozen years before his retirement in 1992. Not bad work if you can get it and evidently Maddow got something resembling the Carson treatment - perhaps even better. Maddow's show is expected to go from weeknights to once a week along with other unspecified projects through the 2024 election.
My attention towards Maddow has been more belated. I began watching her in earnest last summer during the DNC and she became appointment TV until I moved back to Boston where I presently do not have access to a set and just haven't been inclined to pay a subscription to watch streaming video which constantly skips and stalls.
Nevertheless, it is clear to me why Maddow has a loyal following and equally clear that MSNBC is going to have big shoes to fill even if they are comfortable slippers. I'm sure when Rachel Maddow enters the next phase of her TV career the level of quality of her programming will more than make up for the diminished quantity of her air time. And that she, like Johnny Carson before her, can make more doing less then more power to her.
Much of the focus on the California Board of Parole's decision to recommend parole for Robert F. Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan has focused on two of Kennedy's sons being in favor of the release of their father's killer.
Many of the questions at the hearing focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Mr. Sirhan at one point began crying when he spoke about refugees suffering in the Middle East.
Yet the fact that "many of the questions at the hearing focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" beg further questions. First, who asked these questions? Second, what were the nature of these questions? Third, did anti-Israel sentiment play a role in the board's decision to recommend him for parole?
The only way to answer these questions definitively is to examine the transcript of the hearing. This is not yet available. However, given their recommendation, it would behoove the California Board of Parole to be forthcoming.
Of course, there is no guarantee Sirhan Sirhan will actually be released. The Board still has 120 days to review the recommendation. Even if they concur it is ultimately up to California's Governor whether to grant or deny parole. I cannot see Gavin Newsom (or his successor should Newsom be recalled next month) wanting to go down in history as the elected official who freed the man who killed Bobby Kennedy.
Needless to say, a travel itinerary isn't grounds for impeachment either. As to those who objected to former President Trump's dual impeachment must remember that he was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress the first time around and incitement of insurrection the second time round. Democrats did not try to impeach Trump for the Doha Agreement let alone inviting the Taliban to come to Camp David however misguided.
Of course, for the most part, Republican officials know Biden cannot be impeached over Afghanistan withdrawal (one can never be sure about the batshit crazy MJT) and are just trying to stir up Trump supporters who don't know the different between impeach and a peach. And if Republicans were to actually try to impeach Biden over Afghanistan then all Democrats would need to do is call attention to the fact that Trump saw fit to have Taliban leaders freed from jail.
This isn't to say Republicans can't criticize Biden over Afghanistan. It's just that their criticisms lack credibility in view of the fact they didn't say boo when Trump bypassed the democratically elected Afghan government for the Taliban.
Even if Trump set the wheels in motion in Afghanistan, Biden is President has to explain himself and hasn't acquitted himself well at this point. Is it grounds to vote Biden out of office in 2024? Perhaps. Is it grounds to impeach and remove him from office? Absolutely not. Republicans will have to do better. But they know full well that they can't do better. So we'll be hearing more calls from the GOP demanding Biden's impeachment while pretending to give a damn about American soldiers and Afghan civilians.
More than half of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated and while hundreds of thousands of Americans get vaccinated everyday we are nowhere near herd immunity and will never be so long as a critical mass refuse to be vaccinated. As I argued yesterday, I don't believe that full FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine is going to change those numbers much. In which case, COVID-19 will mutate as it has with the Delta variant.
And, in the meantime, how many more millions will be afflicted with COVID in the coming weeks and months? Well, by this time a week from now the U.S. will probably have added another million cases. Maybe more.
Now I know I only lived in Georgia for 7 months, but I cannot see Georgia voters backing Walker over Warnock. Walker has lived in Texas for decades and thinks he's entitled to serve in the U.S. Senate representing Georgia on Donald Trump's say-so whereas Warnock has spent the majority of his life in Georgia. What does it say about the Georgia Republican Party if it feels the need to nominate someone who just moved there five minutes ago? For that matter, I cannot see Walker going toe to toe with Warnock in a debate.
Of course, what Georgia voters might say might be different than what the Republican controlled legislature might have to say given their expanded powers under Georgia's new voter law. The 2022 election will be the first test of the law.
But all other things being equal and fair, I simply cannot see Georgia voters willfully choosing Herschel Walker over Raphael Warnock.
A cause of death was not released but earlier this month the group announced that Watts would not be joining them when they resumed their U.S. tour. Perhaps this was a telltale sign as he not missed a single performance with the group since joining them in January 1963.
Watts was every bit a part of the Rolling Stones as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. And yet he was the unlikeliest Rolling Stone of all. For a band legendary for its debauchery, Watts was remarkably straight-laced remaining married to the same woman for 57 years. He was not the center of drug busts or caught with Margaret Trudeau. And in the rare instances he was he did so with a touch of class. When Jagger awoke him at an ungodly hour demanding where his drummer was, Watts put on his finest suit, knocked on Jagger's door and knocked him out telling him, "Never call me your drummer again."
Under any other circumstances, Watts would have been well dressed advertising executive with a flair for design who otherwise lived a quiet life. Indeed, that's what he was doing for a living in between gigs with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated before joining the Stones. Watts used his designer background in the graphic art of various Rolling Stones albums and creating their tour stages. Yet he was happiest at home.
Although a drummer for one of the world's most famous rock 'n roll bands, jazz was Watts' musical passion and beginning in the 1980's he embarked on several side projects as The Charlie Watts Orchestra, The Charlie Watts Quintet and The Charlie Watts Tentet. Nevertheless, it was in rock 'n roll where he made his mark and kept the beat. R.I.P.
While FDA approval might persuade a few fence sitters to get vaccinated, I doubt this will persuade those Trump supporters who booed the former President for urging them to take the vaccine.
For starters, these people have a deep rooted suspicion of government. Why would they trust the FDA anymore than they would trust the CDC?
There will be some moving of the goal post. Republican Governors will be falling all over each other railing against vaccine mandates. Here's looking at you Kristi Noem.
Then you have the Fox News/Newsmax/OANN/talk radio ecosystem who will continue to promote conspiracy theories while others will promote fake cures. It makes them money. Why would they stop? Yes, some of their supporters will die but there will always be some of the people that you can fool all of the time.
There is a critical mass of Americans who believe Joe Biden wasn't elected President and are willing shed blood over it. This same critical mass is also not going to take a vaccine even it means saving their lives and that of their loved ones.
So long as this critical mass exists then America will be in critical condition where it concerns COVID-19 regardless of whether the FDA gives its full stamp of approval over vaccines.
Last night, I wrote in anticipation of Fanny's long awaited reunion in Los Angeles following the showing of Bobbi Jo Hart's Fanny: The Right to Rock.
For those of us who could not get to L.A. to see Fanny's show, Hart had indicated she would try to stream it on her documentary's Facebook page. While I did not get to see as it happened (alas I am on the East Coast and had to get up early) it was up when I awoke and Hart delivered once again.
After watching the show after I awoke, I watched it again this evening. Why? Because Fanny always leaves me wanting more. This was true of their live music in 1971 and it is equally true in 2021.
Their five song set was bookended with two songs from their 2018 album Fanny Walked The Earth ("Not My Monkey" and "When We Need Her"). In between their newer material, Fanny performed "Butter Boy". It was a nod to both Brie Howard-Darling and Patti Quatro from the Rock 'n Roll Survivors LP but it gave Jean Millington an opportunity to sing lead as her stroke has rendered her unable to play bass.
Perhaps the most interesting song choice was "Soul Child" from Fanny's second album Charity Ball simply by virtue of the fact that I had never heard it live and I got to see Alice de Buhr take over the drum kit. When I listen to Fanny's studio albums I invariably wonder how these would have sounded live. Now I know at least where it concerns "Soul Child".
Of course, all Fanny fans have heard the live version of "Thinking of You" so it was great to hear it again a half century later. Long time Fanny friend and fan Jeff "Skunk" Baxter of Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers fame was a mensch to lend June Millington his guitar and amp. All the more remarkable is how the elder Millington sister flew to L.A. fresh off radiation treatment. There was also the sight of Jean Millington standing out of her wheelchair to sing "When We Need Her". As fellow Fanny fan Nigel Langridge says, "Fanny is not for wimps!!!"
I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing there was someone to play keyboard or piano for a Nickey Barclay song like "Blind Alley" or "Borrowed Time". But we're all on borrowed time and this was the first time in a long time. What we got was enough to leave me wanting more. Whether we will ever get more of Fanny live and in person very much remains to be seen. As such it is all the more reason to treasure the 25 minute or so minutes we got last night. Because there were no guarantees we would get those 25 minutes.
As for the future, we can get our fill of Fanny watching their live performances and studio cuts on YouTube, buying their merch from FannyRocks.com, listening to the Get Behind Fanny podcast every two weeks and going to your local movie theatre to see Fanny: The Right to Rock. Maybe if we're very lucky we'll get see Fanny in concert again. Because let's face it. We want more.
Everything that we did, and then we developed a vaccine, three vaccines in three months, in nine months. And actually, I’ll tell you, it was three days less, three days less than nine months. And it’s great. And you know what? I believe totally in your freedoms, I do. But you got to do what you have to do, but I recommend, take the vaccines. I did it. It’s good. Take the vaccines, but you got… No, that’s okay. That’s all right. You got your freedoms. But I happened to take the vaccine. If it doesn’t work, you’ll be the first to know, okay. I’ll call up Alabama and say, “Hey, you know what?” But it is working. But you do have your freedoms. You have to keep, you have to maintain that. You have to maintain that. And you got to get your kids back to school.
With that being said, Trump made no further mention of telling his supporters to get vaccinated and I doubt he brings it up ever again. As it stands, Trump was tentative in suggesting they get vaccinated in the first place by qualifying it with "you do have your freedoms." Well, you won't have your freedoms if you are dead.
Mind you, Sanders tells us that she was reassured once she learned that Trump had received the vaccine. Wouldn’t have it been more reassuring for Trump supporters had he saw fit to be vaccinated live and in person? In which case, it might very well have been unnecessary for Sanders to write her editorial in the first place.
For Trump to get vaccinated privately and secretly is a rather curious move for a fellow who likes to put his name to everything from golf courses, hotels, steaks and universities. If it truly was the “Trump vaccine”, the former President would have made a show of it. Trump could have been vaccinated at one of his rallies.
Well, now we know that had Trump received his vaccine at one of his rallies he would have run out of town on a rail. The MAGA crowd is a monster he can no longer control.
Now Alabama is the least vaccinated state in the entire Union. One could make the case he wouldn't have received quite a harsh a reaction in another jurisdiction. But there is a direct co-relation between states vaccination rates and support for Biden/Trump. The only state in the Top 25 went with Trump (Florida). The only states which went with Biden not in the Top 25 were Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. All five of these states are swing states. The solid blue Biden states have a fully vaccinated rate of over 50% while the solid red Trump states have a fully vaccinated rate of less than 50%.
Despite Trump's claims about developing a vaccine, his supporters are the least receptive to it. So I believe Trump would have been jeered for calling on his supporters to get vaccinated whether he spoke in Alabama, Alaska, Ohio or Montana.
But this is Trump we're talking about. Trump cares about Trump and getting people riled up. But when your marks stop listening to Trump it is a sign that his rallies are not only a super-spreader event of COVID but a super-spreader event of misinformation.
For those of you familiar with my writings will know of my passion for Fanny, the early 1970's rock band which was the first all-female rock band to release an album on a major label. My discovery of them has brought me much needed joy during this never ending pandemic and comfort amid the chaos of moving twice in less than a year from New York to Atlanta and Atlanta back to Boston/Cambridge.
What has drawn me to Fanny more than anything else is their sheer prowess as a live band. When I introduce people to Fanny, rather than draw their attention to any of their five studio albums, I refer them to their 35 minute set on the West German TV show Beat Club in 1971. I did this only yesterday when I had lunch with a couple of my former neighbors. Invariably it is both an eye and an ear opening experience. It is often the best 35 minutes of my week.
That could change in a matter of hours as Fanny will hit the stage at The Orpheum Theatre in L.A. following a showing of Bobbi Jo Hart's documentary Fanny: The Right to Rock(which I reviewed here last month) during the closing night of Outfest L.A. I would not surprise if we get another 35 minutes of essential music which leaves us wanting more.
The set will feature June Millington, Jean Millington and Alice de Buhr from the classic Fanny lineup along with Brie Howard-Darling and Patti Quatro who were with the band on their final album Rock 'n Roll Survivors. Joining them will be Jean's son, Lee John Madeloni who will play Jean's 1962 Fender Precision bass as she is unable to do so due a stroke she suffered in 2018. Aside from the ongoing challenges Jean faces from her stroke, this will also represent June Millington's first public concert since her breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year. The fact that June and Jean are partaking in this reunion is a testament to their determination, their smiling spirits and their plain love for music.
Unfortunately, keyboardist and Fanny's principle songwriter Nickey Barclay will not be in attendance. This comes as little surprise as Barclay has distanced herself from the band since her departure in 1975. However, removed Barclay is from Fanny she will always be a part of them.
I understand there will be guests and other surprises. Dr. Kristen Hillaire-Glasgow (who is the daughter of Fanny's late manager Roy Silver) will fulfill her dream of being Fanny's fifth member - or in this case sixth member - will join the group to accompany Jean Millington on vocals. Kristen also tells me there will be video footage of the concert on Fanny's official website and will be discussed on upcoming episodes of the Get Behind Fanny podcast which also features de Buhr and Fanny's webmaster Byron Wilkins. This will make up for not being there and not being able to see it being streamed (although Bobbi Jo Hart is evidently trying to stream the proceedings on her Facebook page). It's the first time in a long time. And it might very well be the last time.
One of the common reactions when people hear Fanny for the first time is anger. The anger is not directed at Fanny, but not knowing about them sooner. In my own case, had I known about Fanny, I could have seen them when they reunited (the Millington sisters and de Buhr) at Boston's Berklee Performance Center in April 2007. At the time, I lived in the Fenway only a 10 minute walk from the venue. Indeed, two nights after they reunited, I saw Art Garfunkel in concert there. But as de Buhr reminds us, "It's not when you discovered Fanny, it's that you discovered Fanny."
And now that I have discovered Fanny I tell everyone I can about it whether in person or through my writing. Hopefully, Fanny: The Right to Rock will soon premier in the Boston area. While I might not get to see a full-fledged Fanny reunion I hope I will get to meet June in person as she lives only two hours west of Boston.
As for tonight, I have no doubt that those assembled at the Orpheum in L.A. will get to experience first hand how good a band Fanny is as a live act and be every bit as gobsmacked as I and millions of other people who have watched their live performances on YouTube from what should have been their heyday in the early 1970's. A Fannytastic time is guaranteed for all.
This afternoon, Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera became the 28th player in MLB history to hit 500 career home runs. Cabrera, 38, homered in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays to tie the game at 1-1. Despite this, Blue Jays' fan gave Cabrera a standing ovation and a curtain call. The Tigers went on to win the game 5-3 in 11 innings.
I suspect that Cabrera is more likely to attain his 3,000th hit in the early part of the 2022 season barring injury and he has had his share of them. Cabrera is signed with Detroit through the 2023 season.
Even if he doesn't get 3,000 hits, Cabrera has already secured his place in Cooperstown with two AL MVPs, a Triple Crown, four AL batting titles, 11 All-Star Team selections and 12 100 RBI plus seasons in a 13-year stretch. A couple of off-fieldincidents could delay his induction but I don't think it will prevent it. But it is the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Saints. And Cabrera belongs.
In the Bay State, the worst of the storm occurred on the Cape and in Western Massachusetts. In my neck of the woods, there was heavy rain and wind in the morning. It has been raining intermittently with occasional winds.
While I would prefer to be out and about on a Sunday, I decided to stay in today aside from a brief 15-minute walk in the neighborhood which saw some rain.
If nothing else Henri was a good opportunity to clean up my room and get some rest. Of course, for thousands of other New Englanders, Henri will be anything but restful.
Between 1957 and 1962, The Everly Brothers scored 15 Top 10 hits including "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have To Do is Dream" and "Cathy's Clown". Other memorable hits include "Bye Bye Love", "Bird Dog" and ""(Till) I Kissed You". Born in Kentucky, their songs were also popular on the country charts.
A profound influence on The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Bee Gees and Simon & Garfunkel, the Everlys were part of the inaugural class inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
Sadly, behind all the success, existed considerable tension between the two brothers. The two were estranged for most of the 1970's and when they did reunite after a decade hiatus they generally toured with separate dressing rooms and only met onstage where harmony could be found. Their temperaments were very different with Don being very gregarious and Phil being far more reserved. The same was true with their politics. Phil was a staunch Republican while Don supported Democrats including Hillary Clinton whom he publicly endorsed in January 2016. Don Everly indicated he was only comfortable endorsing a political candidate after his brother's death so as not to put a further strain on their relationship.
Whatever their disagreements they remained in sync musically. A few years back, I saw the Everly Brothers on the Christmas edition of The Johnny Cash Show where they were joined by their father Ike who was also a skilled guitar player his own right. Indeed, Don Everly's first name was Ike. Here they are going back to their Appalachian musical roots. R.I.P.
As if we didn't have enough problems with COVID, Hurricane Henri is expected to hit New England on Sunday. Should it do so it will be the first time a hurricane has hit in this part of the country in 30 years. In August 1991, Hurricane Bob cost over a $1.5 billion in damage and cost 17 lives.
As for me, I have gradually resumed wearing masks indoors when I go grocery shopping although I am largely maskless outdoors. For awhile, I had to wear a mask at work but that was relaxed but I suspect that will change in light of Boston's new policy. It is interesting that very few people in Atlanta were masked outdoors while I wore a mask outdoors until two days before leaving Georgia. Conversely, there are a lot of people in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville who wear masks outdoors although I have not resumed the practice with any kind of regularity.
Former President Trump was wrong. (I know a shocking revelation.) COVID-19 is not going to disappear like a miracle.
Earlier in the year, we were losing 100,000 people every five weeks. It took 65 days to go from 600,000 to 625,000 deaths. This after it took 46 days to go from 575,000 to 600,000 deaths.
But when it comes to COVID-19, death is always a lagging indicator. It took only a week to go from 36 to 37 million cases. We hit 37 million cases two days ago. Now we are nearing 37,300,000 cases. By late September-early October I anticipate we will see death rates will spike yet again. Which means we will probably get to 650,000 deaths in less than two months, perhaps even less than six weeks. Unfortunately, a large segment of our population will continue to act like nothing ever happened until it happens to them.
Longtime Detroit Tigers catcher Bill Freehanpassed away today of Alzheimer's Disease three months shy of what would have been his 80th birthday. It is a shame he never got any serious consideration for Cooperstown because he certainly belongs. Here is what I wrote about Freehan's Hall of Fame merits more than seven years ago:
The Michigan born catcher spent his entire 15-yearcareerwith the Detroit Tigers. (2) During that 15-year career, Freehan led the AL in putouts among catchers six times in seven seasons, won five Gold Gloves and was named to 11 American League All-Star teams. From the early 1960s to the early 1970s, Freehan was the best catcher in the American League and arguably the best catcher in all of MLB until Johnny Bench came along.
Freehan finished his career with a lifetime batting average of .262 (identical to that of Hall of Famer Gary Carter) with 200 HR and 758 RBI. These numbers might look modest, but it must be remembered that Freehan played in an era where pitchers reigned supreme. Indeed, it was Freehan who caught Denny McLain when he won 31 games in 1968. McLain won both the AL Cy Young and MVP Awards. That year the Tigers would win their first World Series since 1945 and Freehan would finish runner up to McLain in AL MVP balloting. The previous year Freehan finished third in AL MVP balloting behind Harmon Killebrew and Triple Crown winner Carl Yastrzemski. However, he received only 0.5% of the vote from the BBWAA in 1982 and dropped off the ballot. There are only 16 catchers in Cooperstown. Bill Freehan deserves to be the 17th.
Since writing those words, three more catchers have entered Cooperstown - Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez and Ted Simmons, the latter earning his induction via the Modern Baseball Era Veterans' Committee last year. The Golden Days Era Veterans' Committee (which covers 1950-1969 when Freehan played the bulk of his career) will convene in December 2021. Hopefully, they will give Freehan the consideration he never got when he only received 2 votes from the BBWAA in 1982. I strongly suspect both of those writers were based out of Detroit.
If so it is a shame that Freehan got no respect outside of the corner of Michigan and Trumbull because he donned the tools of ignorance and mastered those tools. Perhaps it was because Freehan sought no fanfare and got none. As a result, his greatness on the field was almost completely overlooked. This was exemplified by this low-key interview Freehan did with Tony Kubek prior to Game 6 of the 1968 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He just went about his business. R.I.P.
Forty-eight hours after Justin Trudeau called an election, voters in Nova Scotia went to the polls in a provincial election and in a shocking result turfed out the Liberals led by Iain Rankin in favor of Tim Houston's Progressive Conservatives.
Will Nova Scotia voters do the same in a little over a month from now? When Parliament dissolved, the Liberals had 10 of the province's 11 seats in the House of Commons.
But even if Nova Scotia votes Tory again next month it could very well be an aberration. The National Post characterized Houston's campaign as a "left-leaning platform". Whether Houston governs that way remains to be seen. For most of my lifetime, the Tories were officially called the Progressive Conservatives. That name still exists on the provincial level but for many years the emphasis has been on the conservative rather than the progressive. While most Tories in Canada (and beyond) have moved to the populist right, Houston at least tried to carve out a place as what was once called "a Red Tory." For Americans not in the know, the Liberals are red, the Tories are blue and the NDP is orange (but used to be brown and several other colors).
Still, if I am Trudeau I would be worried. While the Liberals have consistently had a comfortable lead in the polls so too did the Nova Scotia Liberals. Unlike the Nova Scotia Liberals, Trudeau did not need to go to the polls for two more years. Trudeau might wish he had those two years back.
It is interesting to me how certain accents are, for lack of a better word, verboten. Let's say the Tigers were playing the Minnesota Twins and the German born Max Kepler was at bat and Morris had said what he said about Ohtani in a German accent. Would there have been any discussion about it let alone a suspension?
Morris could have probably gotten away with doing a German, Russian/Eastern European, French or British accent. Obviously, he could not get away with an Asian accent and probably wouldn't have been able to get away with a Latino, Middle Eastern, Indian or Caribbean accent. Undoubtedly there is a racial component as the former group of accents are associated with white people while the latter group of accents are associated with racial minorities. Although with that said there are plenty of racial minorities who have British accents. Perhaps the last person who could have got away with using an Asian accent was Don Rickles and he's been dead for four years.
All of this reminds me of something that happened a couple of weeks ago. I have joined a theater group (that's another story for another day) and I was at a rehearsal. One of my colleagues was acting a role that was specifically described as Latino and he did it with a Latino accent. The director told him to be careful with the accent. I raised the same point at that time that I did then. Why are some accents more objectionable than others? And it all comes down to race. My colleague in question is white.
Now there's no doubt the Asian community has faced considerable cruelty since the start of the COVID pandemic. But I don't think what Morris did rises to someone who kills Asian women in a massage parlor. It probably would have been better had he not done it but let's not treat him like he killed someone.
In this kind of atmosphere where there is an absence of balance and proportion it is difficult to engage in a rational discussion. One fellow tweeted out Do's and Don'ts for broadcaster calling Ohtani's games. One of the dont's is, "Spend time discussing whether or not he speaks English." To which I replied, "So if Ohtani is pitching & there is a visit to the mound are you saying it is out of bounds to mention there is an interpreter present?" Unfortunately, but perhaps not surprisingly, my point went over most people's heads.
When we turn trivialities into tyranny we obscure hatred when it really rears its ugly head.
The one thing that does worry we where it concerns New Zealand is its low vaccination rate with less than 20% of its population having been fully vaccinated. Still, New Zealand has roughly the same population as Alabama, our lowest fully vaccinated state, and I'd like my chances in New Zealand better.
But the Biden Administration doesn't owe any explanation to former President Trump or his supporters. As I argued yesterday (as have many others), Trump wanted out of Afghanistan and his supporters had no qualms about his dealings with the Taliban. Indeed, Biden was criticized by Donald Trump, Jr. nearly a year ago for promoting "endless wars". Now that messaging is all out the window.
It is all more the reason for the Biden Administration to move Heaven and Earth to ensure that we stand by the Afghan people who stood by America. Unfortunately, with only two weeks left until we leave Afghanistan moving Heaven and Earth probably won't be enough.
Trudeau is seeking a third term in office and a second majority government after returning to power with a minority government in 2019. His Liberal Party has maintained a steady lead in the polls since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. While the Liberals haven't been able to sustain their double digit lead since the WE Charity scandal last summer they still hold a steady 6-7 point lead over the Tories. COVID cases have been declining and most Canadians have been vaccinated. So Trudeau understandably feels fairly confident in calling an early election.
But I shall always remember the 1990 Ontario election which was called during the summer by Liberal Premier David Peterson. I remember it because I canvassed it for my local NDP candidate and there was a great deal of anger at Peterson for having called the election. With an unpopular Tory government in Ottawa led by Brian Mulroney, the NDP benefited from this anger and Bob Rae led the party to a shocking majority government.
A quarter century later, the NDP would again benefit from an early election call. This time from the late Alberta Tory Premier Jim Prentice. The NDP led by Rachel Notley would end the Alberta Tories' 44-year old dynasty.
Things do come in threes. That's at least what NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is counting on. On the other hand, new Tory leader Erin O'Toole is an unknown quantity to most Canadians. Perhaps he would be beneficiary if Trudeau misfires during the course of the next five weeks. But Trudeau is aiming squarely at O'Toole and pouncing on him for not requiring Tory candidates to be vaccinated. While Trudeau focuses his attention on O'Toole, it could give Singh an opportunity to build some capital and goodwill.
Still, the odds are in Trudeau's favor and it is his election to lose.
There are reasonable grounds by which one can criticize President Biden's decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the consequences of the return of the Taliban - namely the subjugation of girls and women.
But former President Trump and most Republicans have no business criticizing Biden when it comes to Afghanistan. After all, Trump negotiated a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan which would have taken effect May 1, 2021 - as in more than three months ago.
Gilbert, 27, no-hit the San Diego Padres en route to a 7-0 victory for a D'Backs team which has the worst record in MLB. Even more remarkable is that Gilbert was a Rule 5 draft pick from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The D'Backs are required to keep Gilbert on their big league roster but had used him sparingly until tonight and he made the most of it. This marks the first time a pitcher has thrown a no-hitter in his first big league start since 1953 when St. Louis Browns pitcher Bobo Holloman no-hit the Philadelphia Athletics.
With Gilbert setting the record things have come full circle for the Padres who were on the receiving end of the no-hitter. San Diego native Joe Musgrove threw the first no-hitter of the 2021 season and first in Padres franchise history on April 9th against the Texas Rangers. Five days later, Chicago White Sox hurler Carlos Rodon no-hit the Cleveland Indians. Three weeks later, John Means of the Baltimore Orioles would no-hit the Seattle Mariners. Forty-eight hours later, Cincinnati Reds southpaw Wade Miley would victimize the Indians with another no-hitter. Eleven days later, Detroit Tigers pitcher Spencer Turnbull would no-hit the Mariners who failed to manage a hit for the second time in less than two weeks. Twenty-four hours later, New York Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber no-hit the Texas Rangers for the second time in the 2021 season. Another five weeks (plus a day) would pass before Chicago Cubs pitchers Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel would throw a combined no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With the way things have gone this season, 51 days between no-hitters seems like an eternity. Nevertheless, Gilbert made history tonight.
Honestly, there should be 9 no-hitters in the books. If there were, the D'Backs would have two no-hitters to their credit this season. On April 25th, Bumgarner no-hit the Atlanta Braves during a doubleheader. But MLB only recognizes 9 inning no-hitters. Now that doubleheaders are only 7 innings apiece, pitchers are precluded from being recognized for a no-hitter.
With a month and a half left in the season I have a feeling we haven't seen the last no-hitter of the 2021 season.
Yesterday, Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis announced his retirement while Jake Arrieta may have thrown his last big league pitch as he was released by the Chicago Cubs.
I am struck by the remarkable similarities between the two men and by one crucial difference.
Both men are 35 years old. In fact, Davis is only 11 days younger than Arrieta.
Both men played high school and college baseball in Texas.
Both men were drafted thrice before signing.
Both men signed with teams who drafted them in the fifth round (one year apart).
Both men did not distinguish themselves with the teams with which they signed - Davis with the Texas Rangers and Arrieta with the Baltimore Orioles.
Both men would not reach their potential with the teams with which they signed.
Both men would be traded mid-season. Davis was traded to the Orioles at the trade deadline in 2011 while Arrieta was traded by the Orioles in June 2013 to the Cubs. (Yes, the two were teammates in Baltimore.)
Both men would set the world on fire two years after joining their new clubs. Davis led the AL in HR (53) and RBI (138) in 2013 (the same year Arrieta was dealt to Chicago) finishing third in AL MVP balloting behind a couple of guys named Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout. Arrieta won the NL Cy Young Award in 2015.
Both men had two more good seasons before their performance started to precipitously decline. Who can forget Davis' 0 for 54 streak in 2019 while Arrieta posted a 6.88 ERA in his Cubs return.
Now there is some variation here. Davis remained in Baltimore while Arrieta spent three seasons in Philadelphia before rejoining the club this season. Davis was plagued by injuries and did not play in 2021 due to hip surgery which prompted his retirement.
But the biggest difference between them is on masks. Chris Davis was all for wearing a mask on the field and there are masks bearing his number. After his last miserable start on Wednesday in which he gave up 8 runs in 4 innings pitched, Arrieta demanded a reporter remove his mask - on a Zoom call. Very, very disappointing. When I saw Arrieta pitch for the Cubs in 2014 he was a much different pitcher than when he toed the rubber in Baltimore. I predicted he would win the NL Cy Young in 2015 and is probably my greatest prediction. But as then 9-year old Boston Red Sox fan Henry Frasca wrote in a letter of encouragement to Davis during his spectacular batting slump, "The way you play baseball has nothing to do with how good a person you are." From the mouths of babes. Too bad Arrieta didn't have a wise fan beyond his years.
Chris Davis said goodbye gracefully while Jake Arrieta burned bridges.
Less than a month away from the 20th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Taliban is on the verge of retaking total control of Afghanistan.
I honestly don't think this development comes as a surprise to President Biden. Oh, he might be surprised by how quickly the provinces have fallen. But I don't think he is surprised at the outcome despite whatever assurances he made to President Ghani and Chairman Abdullah. Consider what Biden said back in April when he made it clear that our time in Afghanistan would be ending soon:
I believed that our presence in Afghanistan should be focused on the reason we went in the first place: to ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again. We did that. We accomplished that objective.
Otherwise U.S. troops are in Afghanistan forever. To me, the key passage is "to ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again." Biden then notes that objective was accomplished.
There is no question the Taliban will make life worse for the people of Afghanistan, especially its girls and women. But Biden has calculated that the legacy of U.S. troops in Afghanistan was sufficient that the Taliban won't harbor al Qaeda or any other terrorist group from launching terrorist attacks in the United States.
If Biden is correct then most Americans won't care that we left Afghanistan however nasty, brutish and short life is there. For most Americans it will be, "Thank God it's them and not us." But if Biden is wrong and there is another large scale terrorist attack committed inside the United States with the help of the Taliban and it happens during Biden's tenure in office then it will mark not only the end of his Presidency but further the rise of authoritarian Trumpism in this country.
But if there were another 9/11 scale attack in the U.S. under Biden's watch with bloody Taliban hands then Trump and his supporters would use it as a pretext for taking drastic measures such up to and including ousting Biden from the White House by force and reinstating Trump.
Then again if there were large scale casualties from Taliban aided terrorist attack then Trump and his supporters might not need to resort to such actions. American voters might be prepared to give him a second chance. If we do then we won't get a second chance at democracy. Should that come to pass then America will be no better under Trump than Afghanistan will be under the Taliban.
The Chicago White Sox defeated the New York Yankees 9-8 on a walk off home run by Tim Anderson in front of a capacity crowd of 8,000 fans at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. This after Chisox closer Liam Hendriks blew a 7-4 lead on a pair of two run HRs by Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the top if the inning. In all there were 8 HR hit in the game.
The 9th inning capped off a beautiful evening of baseball played in old uniforms in front of an azure sky, stalks of corn beyond the outfield fence and a hand operated scoreboard. I could have done with more traditional music and traditional announcing but Kevin Costner added his gravitas to the proceedings by leading both teams out on the field through the corn.
All in all, it was the highlight of this 2021 MLB season and the best thing to happen to baseball in a very long time. I'm sure it will become an annual event. While this will put Iowa on the map for something other than caucuses and COVID, in some ways perhaps it would be best to keep this memory and savor it as something precious. But that won't happen when there's money to be made.
On the other hand, Dyersville, Iowa would be a nice place to spend an evening to watch a baseball game or have a catch with my Dad.
Andrew Cuomo finally waved the white flag and announced his resignation as Governor of New York effective two weeks from now. The resignation came amid a report released last week by New York Attorney General Letitia James revealing sustained sexual harassment of 11 women including a state trooper. The report prompted President Biden to call upon Cuomo to resign. The writing was on the wall.
Yet this wasn't the first damning report James issued against Cuomo this year. Back in January, James revealed the Cuomo Administration undercounted the number of COVID deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50%. But this did not move Democrats to call upon Cuomo to resign. This only happened after the sexual harassment allegations came to light in late February and early March. At the time, I posed the question, "If Cuomo wasn't facing sexual harassment allegations would any Democrat have called upon him to step down for contributing to the deaths of 15,000 New York nursing home residents?
I'm not arguing sexual harassment isn't a serious matter. Cuomo could face criminal charges. Nevertheless, Cuomo implemented a policy which substantially increased the number of COVID deaths in New York and saw fit to cover them up. Under the circumstances, it is reasonable to ask why President Biden and other Democrats didn't see fit to call for Cuomo's head when James released this first report.
Even if one didn't know much about hockey growing up in Canada, you sure knew about the Esposito brothers - Phil and Tony - the pride of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Of course, Tony was the younger of the two and was the goalie. After originally beginning his career with the Montreal Canadiens, Esposito became a fixture with the Chicago Blackhawks for 15 seasons. He and Ken Dryden were probably the league's two best goalies in the 1970's. The two would face off in two Stanley Cups with Esposito coming up on the short end both times. The two would join forces on Team Canada during the famous Summit Series against the USSR in 1972. Paul Henderson might have scored the winning goal but Esposito and Dryden kept the Soviets from scoring.
Esposito would win the NHL's Rookie of the Year Award - the Calder Trophy as well as his first of three Vezina Trophys for best goaltender in the league on the strength of 15 shutouts - the most ever recorded by a goalie in a single season. His 76 career shutouts are tied for 10th on the NHL All-Time list. He would be enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.
After his playing career, Esposito would briefly serve as General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and later was part of the ownership group which established the Tampa Bay Lightning in the early 1990's. Phil was the team's first President and GM while Tony would be named the team's chief scout. By the end of the decade, the Espositos would be forced out of the organization not long after selling the team.
Tony Esposito always worked best when he was in front of net. R.I.P.
Yes, we have vaccines but a significant portion of the population won't take them. Nearly half the infections in recent weeks have come from seven states with low vaccination rates - Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Missouri. Republican Governors like Florida's Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott of Texas prefer to blame migrant crossings on the southern border without evidence rather than their irresponsible policies for the COVID surge. Both DeSantis and Abbott have prohibited municipalities and school boards from implementing mask and other preventative measures. At least Atlanta has been able to reissue its indoor mask mandate without Governor Kemp from suing Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms as he did last summer. Georgia is no longer at the bottom of the rung in terms of fully vaccinated percentages but 45th out of 50th hardly inspires confidence.
Massachusetts, on the other hand, is 2nd in the nation behind only Vermont. While Governor Baker hasn't reintroduced a statewide mask mandate nor have there been local mask mandates reintroduced in Boston or Cambridge I can tell you there is a very high rate of mask wearing in this area. In that sense, I am glad I am back here. That isn't a guarantee I won't get COVID because it is increasing in all 50 states. But some jurisdictions are clearly behaving more responsibly than others.
Davis was the second longest serving Premier in the province's history with only Oliver Mowat who served nearly a quarter century from 1872 to 1896 having a longer tenure in office.
In my early years, Davis was as dominating a Canadian political figure as Pierre Trudeau albeit less charismatic. Yet there were remarkable similarities between the two men. Both Davis and Trudeau extended their respective parties dynasties by first becoming effective cabinet ministers. While Trudeau earned the Liberal Party leadership on the strength of his work as Minister of Justice on the federal level under Lester Pearson, Davis earned his gravitas en route to the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party as Minister of Education under John Robarts. Davis did this by establishing community colleges, adding two new universities (Brock and Trent), establishing the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) as well as the Ontario Educational Communications Authority which would later become TVOntario.
In his 14 years as Premier from 1971 to 1985, Davis governed from the center. To some degree this was by necessity as the 1975 and 1977 provincial elections returned him to office with minority governments. Nevertheless, Davis was no right-wing ideologue. He sought to bring about peace, order and good government and largely succeeded. Davis was also a close ally of Trudeau on the question of patriating the Constitution and bringing about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
One of the rare occasions when Davis' political instincts abandoned him was when he reversed himself on full public funding for Catholic schools. This would alienate his Tory base which was largely Protestant. Though by this time, Davis had already announced his retirement and it would be left to his successor Frank Miller to deal with the fallout of that decision. Indeed, the 1985 Ontario election would result in a Liberal-NDP accord and the fall of the Tories after 42 years in office.
My family supported the NDP during his years in office. Naturally there was corruption and mistakes. But given what has followed under succeeding Liberal, NDP and Tory governments, Bill Davis' years in office look very, very good. R.I.P.
