Are we all crazy yet? Stark, mumbling mad?
Why not?
Tell me one thing you do to fight the plague’s effect on your sanity. Maybe you’ve stopped watching the Daily Death Count, i.e. the nightly news. Maybe you order takeout every night of the week.
I watch Andy Griffith. It helps.
The New York Times says we should walk more:
If you often exercise, there’s a good chance you also tend to be more creative, according to an interesting new study of the links between physical activity and imagination. It finds that active people come up with more and better ideas during tests of their inventiveness than people who are relatively sedentary, and suggests that if we wish to be more innovative, we might also want to be movers and shakers.
Yeah? I take the dog to the park every day. I’m not Hemingway yet.
Have you gone back to the gym? Me, neither. I do resistance bands at home. It’s like craving ice cream and getting sorbet.
What do you do?
The virus has incarcerated my mind. I’m counting down the days ‘til it’s gone, without knowing its expiration date. Every time it looks as if we’re overcoming, we get a new variant. Most of us are willing to sacrifice, if we see a goal line. Where’s the goal line?
I hate staying in the house, any time of year. On my off days, my wife and I always try to do something, anything. Lately, a huge highlight was making a trip to IKEA. I spit you not.
Last Saturday I said, “Let’s go to the Zappo’s outlet’’ near Louisville. CLOSED.
“Let’s go to Grant’s boyhood home in Georgetown, OH.’’ CLOSED
We ended up driving to Madison, IN, which used to a fabulous little town full of shops and galleries. You’ll be shocked to know they were mostly CLOSED or gone for good. At least the weather was decent.
Nothing beats college basketball on TV on a weekday evening in January. CLOSED.
We have roadie-d a few times to Buffalo Trace Distillery, just for a gift-shop spree. But really, how much Blanton’s does a body need?
The COVID has CLOSED my taste for bourbon, anyway. And cigars.
I haven’t watched this much TV since never.
Spring training sites are CLOSED to the media. The Masters CLOSED me out for the second year in a row. I was scheduled on Thursday to have lunch with a local sports executive, at a downtown eatery. He called to say we can still have lunch, only it has to be takeout. His company’s protocols have effectively CLOSED restaurants.
I’m not whining. I’m searching. For nearly a year, I’ve written seven distinct pieces of journalism a week – four TMLs, three TM columns. Half that time, sports has been CLOSED, to one extent or another. That’s a reason I’m writing this today.
What do you do?
A mind is a terrible thing to lose.
STICK TO SPORTS. . . Life is so CLOSED, I even watched the impeachment trial yesterday. The prosecution was very effective. The 13-minute video was stunning and recommended viewing for those who believe we should “move forward’’ without the trial.
As for the defense, I’m still trying to figure out what No. 45’s lawyers were doing up there. Lucky for 45 he could have three seals and a donkey making his case and he’d still be exonerated.
HERE’S A HEADLINE YOU DON’T WANT TO READ ABOUT YOUR TEAM. . . From fangraphs.com:
Cincinnati’s Winter Has Been a Disaster.
A taste:
The financial losses resulting from COVID-19 are real, but those revenue struggles don’t change the basic contours of the roster. They still need to take advantage of Eugenio Suárez, Moustakas, Gray, and Castillo while they have them. Refusing to throw good money after good makes all of it bad.
Nor have the Reds made any moves to address the problems of the team’s lackluster offense. Their wRC+ of 88 over 2019 and ’20 ranked 24th in baseball, generally only above teams fighting to get out of last place.
The Reds have fallen farther behind in a footrace where everyone is mostly jogging.
The author suggests fans don’t have a lot to look forward to, long term:
This is as good as it gets. They’re not waiting for a bevy of exciting young prospects to storm the NL Central barricades; the team’s offense looks even worse when we look to the future.
The Athletic does rank the Reds’ farm system 17th overall, if that makes you feel any better.
THIS IS TRULY TRAGIC:
When the sports world came to a pause last spring, Jay Deutsch, the CEO of Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (better known as BDA), said his company, which produces the majority of promotional bobbleheads for MLB teams, needed to pivot from distribution to storage. He estimates that about four million bobbleheads planned for giveaways last year are currently sitting in warehouses.
"Most teams are going to try to utilize the bobbles in different ways, whether it becomes a season-ticket holder collectible, while some of these are donated to charity," Deutsch said. "The majority of the plan is that they'll give it to kids who are not worried about what happened last year. If we do have to recycle them, that's what we'll end up doing."
OK, but stay away from my Wily Mo Pena and don’t even think about nabbing my Romain Sato nesting doll.
THOUGHTFUL THOUGHT RE JUICED BASEBALLS. From MSN.com:
You’d like to see changes that are geared toward the larger goals for the sport, including seeing more balls in play (i.e., less three-true-outcome). And if that means thoughtful changes to the baseball itself, and communicating the impact of those changes clearly to players (so they could adjust performance goals accordingly – as in, it ain’t worth swinging for the fences quite as much as it used to be), then so be it.
Jack Nicklaus was forever pleading for a Masters Ball, one that wouldn’t go as far as a regular ball. The Eternal Jack reasoned that was easier than pushing the tee boxes back, which he felt was harming the character of the golf course and the intent of its creators, Jones and Mackenzie.
WASHINGTON POST TASTELESS HEADLINE. . . The paper noted the passing of former Redskins coach Marty Schottenheimer thusly:
“Marty Schottenheimer, NFL coach whose teams wilted in the postseason, died at 77”
Schottenheimer was 200-126-1 as head coach. He began his career with the Cleveland Browns, going 44-27 from 1984-88, with four straight playoff berths, including back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in 1986 and 1987.
The paper has since changed the headline. It now reads “Marty Schottenheimer, one of the NFL’s winningest coaches, dies at 77.” (AP)
DAILY ANDY UPDATE. . . Sheriff Taylor and Deputy Fife arrange a high school reunion. Andy’s old flame shows up. She and Andy see life very differently. Only a little mirth and merriment ensue.
This was a different episode, very revealing of who Andy is. He’s happy being the sheriff of a small town. His old girlfriend finds that confining. She lives in Chicago.
And yes, this is how pathetic things are in Coronaville and how much of a loser I’ve become. I’m analyzing Andy Griffith Show re-runs, seeking truth. Someone CLOSE me.
TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . Haven’t played this one in awhile. My favorite Who song.
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