Clarence Williams III, R.I.P.

Actor Clarence Williams III, best known for his portrayal of Linc in the 1970's TV series The Mod Squad, passed away on Friday of colon cancer. He was 81.

Williams and Mod Squad co-star Peggy Lipton would briefly reunite onscreen during the second season of Twin Peaks in 1991. With Lipton's death in May 2019, Michael Cole is now the show's only surviving cast member. 

A charismatic and intense performer, Williams would be cast as Linc on the strength of his Tony nominated performance in Slow Dance on the Killing Ground. After five seasons as Linc, Williams would go on to play supporting roles perhaps notably as Prince's troubled father in Purple Rain as well as Sugar Hill, Half-Baked and Tales From The Hood. His TV credits include Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Law & Order, Everybody Hates Chris and Burn Notice. 

Singer Lenny Kravitz took to Twitter to pay tribute to Williams:

When I was a kid growing up in NYC Clarence Williams III was a face on TV that I identified with and that inspired me. From the Mod Squad, to Purple Rain and Sugar Hill, he always performed with dynamic energy. Rest in power, king.

Well said. R.I.P. 

I Can't Believe There's No More Greyhound Bus Service in Canada

Tomorrow morning I will be boarding a Greyhound bus from Boston to New York City to visit my Dad. When I spoke to my mother this afternoon regarding my plans I was absolutely gobsmacked when she told me that Greyhound had ceased all passenger operations in Canada last month. 

During the 1990's, I spent countless hours on the Greyhound bus between Ottawa and Toronto. For a year, I lived right across the street from the Greyhound station in Ottawa. Greyhound actually ceased operating there last May amid the COVID-19 pandemic. When I would travel down to Toronto or back to Ottawa the bus would always stop at the Log Cabin Restaurant in the quaint town of Tweed, Ontario. It too has ceased to be. 

The only Greyhound buses that will be seen in Canada now will originate from U.S. cities. You can get to Vancouver from Seattle, to Toronto from Buffalo and New York City and to Montreal from New York City and Boston. There were a couple of occasions when I took the Greyhound from Boston to Montreal and switched to the bus to Ottawa which left hourly. If I were to do this now I would have to go the VIA Rail station to get to Ottawa via ground transport. 

At least Ottawa and other cities in the Windsor-Quebec City corridor still have passenger rail as an option. A few of the smaller bus companies like MegaBus can fill some of the gaps in these areas. But the same cannot be said for my hometown of Thunder Bay which lost its VIA Rail service more than 30 years ago. To get to Thunder Bay one must fly in or take a very, very, very long drive. 

A country as vast as Canada needs federally subsidized bus travel to connect rural and isolated urban centers like Thunder Bay. But this is no more likely to happen than the federal government reinvesting in VIA Rail.

As Harry Chapin sung in "Greyhound", "It's got to be the goin', not the getting there that's good." But if you can't even go....

I Hope Candlepin Bowling Will Bring Me a String of Good Fortune

For the first time in 2021 I went bowling. 

Had you asked me at the beginning of the year when and where I would bowl I would not have told you that it would take until June and that I would be going candlepin bowling at the Southie Bowl in South Boston. But this is exactly what I did today. It was the first time I had gone candlepin bowling since 2002 when I went during a work outing in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Candlepin bowling has some similarities to duckpin bowling which I have done in Connecticut and in Georgia. In both games you have up to three rolls per frame. Only in candlepin, a frame is called a box and a game is called a string. The ball is also smaller than in tenpin bowling, but a candlepin ball is even smaller than a duckpin ball. As with duckpin, no one has thrown a perfect game in candlepin. Indeed, candlepin is even harder than duckpin. While all the time high score in duckpin is 279, it is 245 in candlepin. 

There are two things which set candlepin apart from duckpin. First, there are the pins. In duckpin, the pins are tiny while in candlepin the pins are long and skinny. Second, in duckpin if there are pins lying around after you've taken your first or second shot then one must reset the pins. This is not the case in candlepin. The fallen candlepins remain and can be used as a means to knock down the remaining pins.

I am no better at candlepin than I am at duckpin or, for that matter, tenpin bowling. But there is the opportunity to get better. Today, my goal was to get out and have fun for the sake of having fun for the first time since the end of 2020 and that goal was attained.

Now that I'm back in the Boston area, I plan to visit other candlepin bowling venues and possibly join a league should the opportunity present itself. Hopefully candlepin bowling will help open me up to social interactions which I did not previously have during my first tenure here. I hope candlepin bowling will bring me a string of good fortune. It might not happen overnight. In which case, I'll just have to roll with it.

On Being a Cantabrigian

A few days ago, I made my return to Boston after an exile of two years, eight months and eight days. Not that I was counting or anything. 

Yet this time around I am not a Bostonian. Yesterday, I moved into a house across the Charles River in Cambridge. Yes, the one with the piano in the room. While I was sorely tempted to return to Jamaica Plain, the room was furnished and the rent was less expensive. All of which now makes me Cantabrigian. 

Actually, I'm very close to the Cambridge-Somerville line. I might be all of a 100 feet away from it. But I'm a Cantabrigian just the same. 

During my 18 and a half years living in Boston my sojourns to Cambridge were an essential part of my time here. Seldom did I feel more joy than when I would walk on Mass Avenue from Fenway/Back Bay to Harvard Square passing M.I.T. and Central Square. I spent those hours at Club Passim, The Cantab (before they banned me for life), The Out of the Blue Gallery, Charlie's Kitchen, J.F.K. Park and Leavitt & Peirce, Inc., the tobacconists that sell a wide variety of mustache waxes.

Now I am but a 15 minute walk from Harvard Square and, for that matter, Harvard Yard. One of these days, I hope to cross paths with Remy The Humanities Cat - an orange tabby who spends his days roaming Harvard's vast campus crashing classes and dorm room parties. The pandemic has curtailed this but hopefully he will resume his normal life as we resume ours.

I'll be spending a lot of time in Boston as I will start my job in the Seaport District later this month. But when it comes to being left to my own time and own devices, I wonder if I will now journey along Mass Ave from Cambridge to Boston as I journeyed from Boston to Cambridge for so many years. 

I'm sure I will. But I'm also sure I will get to know The People's Republic of Cambridge in a way I've never known before.

I Don't See the Bennett-Lapid Coalition Government in Israel Lasting Very Long

It appears that after more than 12 years in office, Benjamin Netanyahu will soon become Israel's former Prime Minister for the second time. Yamina's Naftali Bennett and Yesh Atid's Yair Lapid with the support of Mansour Abbas of the United Arab List have agreed to form a coalition government following elections back in March - the fourth in less than two years. Bennett will serve as Prime Minister from now until 2023 and then Lapid will assume the office for two years. This marks the first time Arab political parties have been part of a governing coalition.

Or so it appears.

First of all, this has to be ratified by the Knesset. And who can say what happens between now and next week?

But let's suppose the Knesset agrees to the coalition. I can't see a coalition of secularists, settlers and Islamists lasting four months much less four years. It would therefore not shock me if before the end of 2021 that Israelis will go to the polls for the second time this year and the fifth time since 2019. All of which would give Netanyahu a chance to become Prime Minister for a third time. 

Mind you, I'm not rooting against this new coalition. I wish it every bit of success and I hope the Biden Administration is prepared to cut them the sort of slack they won't give to Bibi. But for the Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and AOCs of the world it doesn't matter who governs Israel. To them Israel should be abolished. 

I wish I could be more optimistic but I am not. I can only hope to be proven wrong. If I am then I will delight in my error and misjudgment.

Former NL Cy Young Winner Mike Marshall Passes Away at 78, R.I.P.

Former MLB reliever Mike Marshall, best known for winning the 1974 NL Cy Young Award with the Los Angeles Dodgers while appearing in a MLB record 106 games, passed away on Memorial Day at the age of 78. No cause of death has been released. 

A native of Michigan, Marshall signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1965 as an amateur free agent. The following year his contract was purchased by the Detroit Tigers with whom he would make his big league debut in 1967. The Seattle Pilots would pick Marshall in the expansion draft following the 1968 season. Used primarily as a starter, Marshall struggled with a 3-10 record and a 5.13 ERA. 

After a brief stint with the Houston Astros in 1970, he would be traded to the Montreal Expos that June. While in Montreal, Marshall's career flourished under the tutelage of manager Gene Mauch. Marshall would finish fourth in NL Cy Young balloting in 1972 and finish runner up to Tom Seaver in 1973. The Expos then traded Marshall to the Dodgers for outfielder Willie Davis.

While Davis had a good season in Montreal, Marshall would have a historical season and was a crucial piece to the Dodgers winning their first NL pennant in 8 years. Although the Dodgers would fall to the Oakland A's in the World Series, Marshall memorably picked off Herb Washington in Game 2 to give L.A. their only win of that Fall Classic. 

However, all those appearances would reduce Marshall's effectiveness and the Dodgers would deal him to the Atlanta Braves for outfielder Lee Lacy and pitcher Elias Sosa during the middle of the 1976 season but did not return to form in Atlanta. Nor was he effective while with the Texas Rangers in 1977. 

But Marshall would reunite with Gene Mauch with the Minnesota Twins in 1978 regaining his form for two seasons finishing in the top 10 in AL Cy Young balloting both seasons as he led the AL in appearances by a pitcher in 1979 with 90. The Twins would release Marshall during the 1980 season when his ERA ballooned to 6.12. Marshall would acquit himself well in 20 appearances with the New York Mets in 1981 but the team saw fit to release him at the end of the season and he opted to retire. In 724 big league appearances over 14 seasons, Marshall went 97-112 with a 3.14 ERA and 188 career saves.

Marshall was as well known for his academic inclinations as he was for his pitching earning a Ph.D in kinesiology from Michigan State University in 1978. Astonishingly, Marshall nearly gave up baseball prior to the 1974 season to pursue his academic interests. Instead, Marshall remained and had one of the most distinguished seasons any pitcher could dream of. R.I.P.

MLB Notes for May: The Orioles Have Lost 14 Straight, But Are They Really This Bad?

The Baltimore Orioles managed to tread water during the month of April with a 12-14 record - identical to that of the New York Yankees.

In May, the O's went off the deep end with a 5-23 record finishing the month with 14 consecutive losses.

Naturally this has evoked comparisons with the 1988 Baltimore Orioles who began that inglorious year with 21 consecutive losses - an AL record. Only the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies who lost 23 consecutive games have spared the O's from baseball infamy. But this is of small consolation. The 1988 O's finished that season 54-107. 

As for this crop of baby birds, there is a very good chance the Orioles will lose 100 or more games for the third time in four seasons. In 2018, the O's were in 1962 New York Mets territory losing 115 games finishing 61 games back of the World Series champion Boston Red Sox. At their current pace, the O's will finish with a 51-111 record. 

But even if this comes to pass are the Orioles really this bad? Or are they just unlucky? If we look at the Orioles current losing streak, 7 of their 14 losses are by two runs or less. So it's not like the O's are getting blown out every night. 

On the other hand, things have been getting ugly for awhile. Since John Means no-hit the Seattle Mariners on May 5th, the Orioles have gone 2-21 and are now 17.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays. Means has a sterling ERA of 2.05 while the rest of the rotation is well over 5.00. Aside from Means Cy Young caliber season, Trey Mancini is putting up MVP like numbers with 11 HR and 42 RBI fresh off a serious bout with cancer. 

But Means and Mancini notwithstanding, the Orioles are looking up at the rest of the division. The defending AL champion Rays have won 16 of their last 17 games and have a two game lead over the Boston Red Sox. Although the Yankees went 17-11 in May they have underachieved having recently been swept by the cellar dweller Detroit Tigers and are now 5.5 games back. The Toronto Blue Jays have also underachieved and are 6.5 games back. But the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays still have a chance to catch the Rays. The same cannot be said of the Orioles barring more than a miracle.

It has been something of a miracle that the Chicago White Sox enjoy a 3.5 game advantage over the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central despite manager Tony La Russa moving heaven and earth to alienate his players with his public blasting of rookie sensation Yermin Mercedes for hitting a home run on a 3-0 pitch during a blowout against the Minnesota Twins. Are the Chisox winning in spite of La Russa or just to spite him?

The Kansas City Royals began the month leading the AL Central by 1.5 games over the Chisox. The team soon embarked upon an 11 game losing streak but has since clawed its way back to the .500 mark. The jury is very much out on the Royals. The Twins continue to be a major disappointment finishing the month only a half game ahead of the Tigers.

The AL West is a three team race with the Oakland A's leading the Houston Astros by a half game with the surging Seattle Mariners only 2.5 off the pace having won five in a row and 7 of their last 10 games. The Los Angeles Angels continue to underachieve despite the unceremonious release of Albert Pujols while the Texas Rangers finished May with six straight losses.

There are three team races in both the NL West and NL Central. The San Francisco Giants enjoy a half game lead over the San Diego Padres and a two game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Colorado Rockies have the pleasure of knowing they can look down at the Arizona Diamondbacks who went 5-24 during the month of May losing 13 of their last 14 games. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs went from worst to first with a 19-7 May and enjoy a half game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. After struggling at the beginning of May, the Milwaukee Brewers have won five in a row and 8 of their last 10 games. The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates aren't as bad as the Rockies and D'Backs but their chance to get back into contention is slipping by the day.

The New York Mets are the only team in the NL East with a record above .500 as they enjoy a 3.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves. The Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins are five games back while the Washington Nationals are seven back of the Mets. This is still the NL Least.

Will La Russa survive the season on the South Side of Chicago? Can Oakland hold off Houston? Will anybody step up to Mets in June? Will the NL Central and NL West remain three team races? And is there even a ray of hope for the Orioles? We'll find out on Canada Day.