Off The Air Again …

The rants will be off the air once again as my long-suffering wife and I are on the road again.  This time we are visiting friends from grad school days in Hawaii.

We will return in the middle of next week relaxed and jet-lagged.  My best guess for restarting the rants is sometime between October 9 and October 11.  See you then.

Stay safe and stay well, everyone…

 

Rest In Peace Dikembe Mutombo And Pete Rose

Yesterday came reports that Dikembe Mutombo died at the age of 59 after battling brain cancer.  Mutombo was a defensive presence throughout his NBA career whose “signature” on the court was to wave his finger as a “no-no” after blocking a shot.  A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mutombo was known for his charitable works there and in other parts of Africa.

Rest in Peace Dikembe Mutombo.

This morning, I woke up to news that Pete Rose had died over the weekend at the age of 83.  No cause of death was in the report I read.  There is no need to repeat the self-destructive tale that is Pete Rose in his later years.  Suffice it to say that his stats say he belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame – – but he is not there.

Rest in peace, Pete Rose.

At the beginning of the MLB season, I made 10 selections based on the futures bets posted by oddsmakers.  The time of reckoning has arrived.

There were 5 winning selections:

  1. Dodgers UNDER 105 wins
  2. Braves UNDER 102 wins
  3. Tigers OVER 80.5 wins
  4. Nationals OVER 66.5 wins
  5. Pirates OVER 75 wins – – by one game

There were 5 losing selections:

  1. Cubs OVER 84.5 wins
  2. Astros OVER 92 wins
  3. Orioles to win the AL East
  4. Rays OVER 85 wins
  5. Yankees UNDER 93.5 wins – – by one game

Those picks demonstrate the symmetry of the universe in addition to the fact that on the day I made those selections, I was acting as a human coin flip.  Those oddsmakers sure do know their business…

Finally, I’ll close this brief rant today with a paraphrase of Tony Kornheiser’s sign off line from Pardon the Interruption:

“I’ll try and do better the next time.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………