Left Coast Sports Babe

So it begins – 64 challengers down to 1. Non-sports fans might be forgiven to wonder if March Madness is latest name for the 2020 Democratic primary.

Think if you claim credit for a March Madness bracket upset you should at least, without Google, be able to identify where the school you picked is located.

Most exciting ending of kind of meh March Madness day one was New Mexico State down two at end of game and passing up easy game-tying layup against Auburn in favor of a potential game winning three. The guy got fouled. then missed 2 of 3 foul shots. A buzzer non-beater?

––

Most impressive upset so far, #12 Murray State easily handling  #5 Marquette. Oh please oh please can someone ask Donald Trump about Murray State. Want to hear him brag about saying he won all Murray’s electoral votes.

–

Wow, In honor of Murray State blowout of Marquette today, can we temporarily change lyrics of that Steve Miller song to “Crash like a (Golden) Eagle?”

–

Lamont Smith, former men’s basketball coach at the University of San Diego, has resigned as assistant coach at UTEP after being accused in college admissions scandal.
Many at ACC and SEC schools are shocked, you mean a potential recruit actually paid a COACH?  #ManBitesDog

–

A former intern in Cal athletic department has accused unnamed football players, coaches and staff members of sexual harassment. This is not how the Golden Bears wanted to join the ranks of big-time football programs.

–

My #FloridaMan item with my birthday is just a man trying to steal an ice cream truck. Darn, that’s cold.

Apparently Trump wants Patriots owner Robert Kraft to join the team at the White House despite Kraft’s prostitution arrest. Well, not like Kraft did anything really embarrassing, like taking a knee.

So maybe Trump still wants  Kraft to visit White House after his arrest is that Donald wants to warn the Robert privately not to tell anyone who recommended Orchards of Asia?

–

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, instead of vaccinating his nine children, exposed them all to chickenpox.
Nine children! Guessing he’s also against scientific methods to prevent STDs and pregnancy?.

–

So I guess GOP would have been fine with Hillary Clinton using WhatsApp?

–

As the Ethiopian Air crash investigation continues, your reminder that Obama’s FAA head left office in 2017, and Trump, who brags about not needing people in many roles that must be confirmed by the Senate, hadn’t nominated anyone until 2 days ago.

Donald Trump, who today called John McCain “horrible,”  said controversy over him insulting the dead war hero and Senator is all the media’s fault, saying, he doesn’t bring it up, but “When they ask me the question, I answer the question.”

Now Donald about those questions on your tax returns?

(and of course, the reason the media asks, is that Trump started this with a weekend tweet storm including insults against McCain.)

Sacramento Kings blew a 25 point lead after three quarters in losing to Brooklyn Nets Tuesday. Did they get a commiserating phone call from the Atlanta Falcons?

–

Then Wednesday Spurs lost to the Heat  (after beating the Warriors Monday , the Thunder lost at home to the Raptors, and the Rockets lost to the Grizzles. So maybe most of the Western Conference just decided to take a day off.

Oh yeah,  and the Bucks lost to the Cavs.    Did a whole lot of teams suddenly get spring fever?

So what the heck is Donald Trump going to do Thursday so that Americans pay attention to him instead of March Madness

@DevinCow parody account now has more Twitter followers than Devin Nunes. Sometimes I love social media.

Okay folks, if we can unite behind a cow, we can unite behind our eventual Democratic presidential nominee! #DevinCow

–

Washington Post printed a Charles Kusner op-ed where he defends himself & Jared.   The Post refers to Charles as “founder and principal of Kushner Companies, a diversified real estate company.” Guess Post didn’t have room in the description for “disbarred ex-con who hired prostitute to seduce his brother, videoed it and sent the tape to his sister.”

Kellyanne Conway, defending her boss against her husband “You think he shouldn’t respond when somebody, a non-medical professional accuses him of having a mental disorder? You think he should just take that sitting down?””
Well, actually, many actual medical professionals HAVE accused Trump of having a mental disorder…

Today Donald Trump at a rally in Ohio is again attacking John McCain. And he’s not being booed. Hillary was right #deplorables

And hey,  the funeral John McCain got was one all decent Americans wanted him to have. He was admired, loved even, across the aisle.  Guess that explains why Trump is still upset about it.

And finally,  SOMEONE in the GOP Senate hasn’t completely sold their soul, today anyway, Thank you Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson (on Trump attacking McCain.) “It’s deplorable what he said. It will be deplorable seven months from now if he says it again, and I will continue to speak out because there’s one thing that we got to do. You may not like immigration, you may not like this, that, maybe a Republican, maybe a Democrat. We’re all Americans

Mike Trout reportedly finalizing 12-year deal to stay with Angels for more than $430 million. Meaning Bryce Harper was highest paid player for less than 3 weeks. Hope it was worth 13 years in Philadelphia.

–

Would make for an interesting March Madness competition if we had to name  at least one player on any of our chosen teams.

USC says it may expel students whose admissions resulted from the bribery scandal. If only the young men and women had TRUE athletic talent, some school would certainly give them a second chance..

Yeah, it’s full of many imperfect characters, but for movies you suddenly discover on TV on a random night, there are few more warmhearted and fun to watch than “Love Actually,”

–

Trump said to reporters today “I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be.” This sort of BS would never happen if Lindsey Graham were still alive.

–

Wall Street Journal says National Enquirer paid $200,000 to get “intimate” texts between Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. Wonder how much it would take to get some of Trump’s.

–

Reuters reports Vladimir Putin just signed new Russian law imposing strict fines and possible jail time for publishing “fake news” and online comments that show “blatant disrespect” for the state.
Times like this make us glad we live in a democracy. Oops, never mind.

–

Your reminder that at this point a year before primaries started the favorites in polling for 2016 GOP Presidential nomination were Jeb Bush and Scott Walker.

–

And May 2015 polling for 2016 GOP Presidential nomination – 10% each, Bush, Carson, Huckabee, Rubio, Walker. 7% Paul, 6% Cruz, 5% Trump.

–

There is a rumor that Joe Biden will pick Stacey Abrams as his VP running mate out of the gate. If he does that,  even Anita Hill might vote for him.

–

Trump fundraising email of day ”
“MS-13 gang members are murdering our citizens, caravans are surging towards our borders, and terrorists are threatening our national security. THE TIME HAS COME TO FINISH THE WALL”
Let me rewrite it for him “I encourage my fellow Americans to send thoughts, prayers and donations to families innocent people killed by a REAL terrorist in New Zealand.”

–

So many brilliant minds on Twitter, who’s going to make Trump even more upset than usual by starting #TrumpCow account?

It’s that time of year. When you’ve paid almost no attention to college basketball all year.so besides quickly filling out a bracket with Zion and Duke winning it all, you go “why not? And just do a second bracket – a cat bracket  #MarchMadness

–

Some outrage over schools in March Madness with sub .500 records in their conferences. Makes sense, with records like that teams should only be eligible for NIT, or playoffs in NBA Eastern Conference.

–

San Antonio Spurs just clinched their 22nd straight winning season. Knicks fans are going “What’s a winning season?”

NY Giants GM Dave Gettleman, discussing the OBJ trade “Really and truly, you can win while you’re building.” Well, yes, but how many games is he talking about winning?

(or he could be talking about winning next year’s #1 NFL draft pick.)

–

Australia now barring any visitor with a domestic violence charge against women or children from entering the country. Well there go any potential future plans for NFL Australia.

–

Clayton Kershaw apparently won’t be ready for Opening Day. SF Giants fans are thinking ‘Take your time, don’t rush back for any Dodgers-Giants series in April either.”

–

For all those who think religious beliefs SHOULD allow an AirBnb host not to rent to a gay couple, hope they are also okay with owners demanding to see marriage licenses for straight couples.

–

Now Trump is calling Joe Biden “another low I.Q. individual!?” So is Donald’s dementia so bad he now thinks Joe is a black woman?

–

Donna Brazile is joining Fox News. Because network didn’t already have enough people who are anti-Hillary Clinton? #WTF?

Watching hardcore Trumpsters and MAGAers agree with EVERYTHING Trump tweets makes it sadly more and more understandable why Jim Jones’ followers at Jonestown drank that Kool-Aid.

–

For those lucky enough not to have a parent who has had dementia, Sunday’s Trump tweets were what “sundowning” looks like.

I miss having a President who would have spent today with his family and then filling out his brackets.

–

Some days I almost wish Donald Trump drank alcohol – then we could put tweet storms like this morning’s down to green beer for breakfast.

–

Advantage of Selection Sunday for March Madness being on St. Patrick’s Day  is Americans can all blame their soon to be busted brackets on beer and whiskey.

–

Greet Shirts saying ‘St Patty says Ban Dolan” were being sold out Madison Square Garden today, but security was reportedly confiscating them. Way to go owner James Dolan -, alienate the few fans Knicks have left.

–

Alabama is one of bigger snubs in March Madness so will be be heading to NIT. A shame for the team, but Crimson Tide fans will be able to salve their wounds when they get picked for next year’s CFB playoffs.

–

Lakers vs Knicks this morning. And at the beginning of the NBA season who had this as a significant game in the quest for a lottery pick?

–

All you need to know about Lakers season in one sentence: After Los Angeles lost 11 point lead in last 3 1/2 minutes of game, LeBron James had his game winning shot blocked by Mario Hezonja of the Knicks.

–

–

So Trump is demanding comedy shows that attack him be taken off the air, while the shows of people who defend him be put back on the air.

–

Mick Mulvaney defended Trump as “not a white supremacist” and someone who stands up for “religious liberty, individual liberty.” And why would anyone think otherwise of a President who talks of an “invasion” and implemented a Muslim ban?

–

Not sure which is worse, Donald Trump being his usual sad petty self and attacking John McCain? Or McCain’s best friend Lindsey Graham not defending him posthumously?

Glad to see the GOP today criticizing Trump’s senseless posthumous attacks on John McCain. Oh, wait, never mind, they’re mocking Beto O’Rourke on Twitter for an 20 year old DUI….

–

How long until Donald Trump appoints possibly newly-unemployed Jeanine Piero as a federal judge?

–

Of course I would vote for him as the nominee but.Joe Biden tonight “I have the most progressive record of anybody running for the … anybody who would run.” Anita Hill says “Hi.”

–

Early days, but thinking about a possible Klobuchar Buttigieg ticket. And one slogan/bumper sticker ‘Amy and Pete – because no one can spell our last names.”

That moment when Chiefs were feeling really virtuous as a team about getting rid of  Kareem Hunt  #TyreekHill

Umpire Angel Hernandez ejected Astros manager AJ Hinch for allegedly arguing ball and strikes, after the first pitch, in the bottom of the first inning of Friday’s split-squad game against the Cardinals.

So even though it’s only spring training, guess Angel is in full umpire  “all about me” form.

Donald Trump has been so maniacally focused on being the center of attention recently, not completely joking when I ask “What will he do to take back the spotlight from March Madness?”

To be fair, maybe Trump felt he HAD to have his veto ceremony today because on Monday Americans will be focused on something far more important to millions of them – filling out March Madness bracket

In New York, the NCAA March Madness tournament at least gives Knicks fans something to argue about. – if eligible would the team be at least a 5 or 6 seed?

–

–

And what WILL Trump do to recapture US attention when people who couldn’t tell you the difference between a two and three point play suddenly become college basketball addicts.

–

–

Trump response to latest massacre by right-wing terrorist – “I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems.” Trump response to a handful of crimes by immigrants – “It’s an invasion of our country.”

So when do we hear from the Bikers Against Trump contingent?

And five words Donald Trump really does not want to hear – ‘Rick Gates is still cooperating.”

White killer (or killers) with multiple Muslim fatalities in New Zealand. And Trump is promoting Breitbart on Twitter. I miss having a President.

But if we stop laughing, or being snarky,  the bad guys win.

–

Starting in 2020, MLB teams will only have 28 man rosters in September, instead of current 40.  So 2019 is last chance for those who tune in to those late season games just to see 17 pitching changes….

–

Cleveland Browns GM John Dorsey said OBJ’s talent outweighs his challenges. Yeah, that worked out so well with Johnny Manziel.

–

Facebook “Yesterday, we made a server configuration change that triggered a cascading series of issues. As a result, many people had difficulty accessing our apps and services.” Sounds better than “oops, someone hit the wrong button.”

–

Trump on Senate resolution against him “I don’t know what the vote will be, it doesn’t matter, I’ll probably have to veto.”
Does he think he will be able to do the same thing with 2020 election?

–

Today Howard Schultz apologized for saying yesterday. “I probably have spent more time — in the last decade, certainly — than anyone running for president, with the military.”
Maybe he was talking about all the time members of the military have spent in lines at Starbucks?

–

Trump fundraising email of the day “Liberals in the Senate just voted against a National Emergency.” Uh, 12 GOP Senators voted against you too.

–

French aviation authorities, not the US FAA, will investigate black boxes from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Yeah, Trump is really making America respected around the world again.

–

Hallmark Channel just cuts ties with Lori Loughlin. But maybe Loughlin can star as herself in a movie about the College Admissions Scandal.

–

Lori Loughlin’s daughters have dropped out of USC after it was reveals the actress and her husband paid their way in.

Over under on when they’ll be offered jobs in Trump administration or Fox News?

–

Must admit, I talked briefly to an expert when I applied to Stanford. It was my high school guidance counselor in Florida. Her response – “Why do you want to go to Connecticut?” No joke.

If you think, as I do, that college athletes who cheat or commit serious crimes should be kicked off teams & expelled, then same should apply to any student who knew their parents paid and cheated to get them into college.

–

On Wed. March 13,  Facebook and Instagram went down for about 6-7 hours. Forcing millions of Americans actually to work….

Of course, we are about a week away from the first round of March Madness.  So we might be approaching have a record for the most and least productive days in the same month.

–

But yeah, the horror.  Facebook was down, and frustrated users have nowhere to post it.

–

At least  Twitter kept working. Good thing, if it went down Trump would probably declare another National Emergency.

–

Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson said it was a “bad decision” to post picture on Instagram account at 105 mph.    Uh, driving 105 mph AND posting it? At least two bad decisions.

Meanwhile, Drew Brees posted about his son’s flag football game.  #GoSaints

–

Antonio Brown says his ultimate goal is to pass Jerry Rice as the NFL’s all-time leading receiver. Rice has 22,895 yards.   Brown, 31, has 11,207.   Before the Raiders traded for him did they check Antonio for concussions?

–

When it says on a tube of hand cream “Please do not ingest” we either have too many lawyers or too many stupid people. Or both.

Not saying she did or didn’t cheat. But a black girl who raised her test scores in similar fashion to some of those caught this week, had HER SATs almost instantly flagged and invalidated.  https://cnn.it/2MTnsNs 

–

With names of parents being released should be pretty obvious to their fellow students at Georgetown, USC etc, which kids had help during SATs and faked athletic resumes to get into college. Womp womp. #Karma

–

So Singer claims he got 761 kids admitted to college through “side doors.” Sounds like there’s a lot more indictments, and maybe expulsions, ahead?

–

And remember when an argument against affirmative action was too many qualified kids ending up in college?

–

Marc Ragovin muses “If I had only pursued my tetherball career, I could have been a Stanford Cardinal.”

One Stanford coach (sailing) indicted today.   Another coach from UCLA .   Three USC coaches and Sr. Associate AD from USC indicted.

First time Cardinal and Bruins are glad to end up behind Trojans.

SEC schools and other football powerhouses must be smiling today. At least no one needs to bribe coaches for non-athlete students just to get admitted.

–

Le’Veon Bell expected to sign 4-year, $52.5 million contract with Jets.  And the Giants trade Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns for not much.   Looking like nothing is going to get in the way of New York football fans planning ski weeks or cruises in January.

–

Los Angeles Lakers, at 31-36, are 6 1/2 games out of the final Western Conference playoff spot.  But just think, had Lebron only stayed in the East,  a team with that record would be 1/2 game out of the postseason.

–

Meanwhile, Tim Tebow was cut today from Mets’ big-league camp, but still is ‘all-in’ on chasing his baseball dream. Well, if he’s only got AAA talent has he talked to the Orioles?.

Okay, does anyone think with people willing to pay millions to get their kids into college that there aren’t some Mar-A-Lago members & Trump donors about to be arrested?

So has anyone checked to see if Brett Kavanaugh got into Yale as an alleged top athlete in beer pong?

–

What probably really upsets Donald about the College Admissions scandal more than anything?   These parents probably got a cheaper deal than he did to get Don Jr, Ivanka and Eric into Penn and Georgetown.

Donald Trump is very upset at New York. Well, not like he has any ties to the city for a life post-presidency.

And meanwhile, is he asking us to take all the computers out of Air Force One?

“@realDonaldTrump Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are….

Warriors being beaten by lowly Suns last night might have been one of most embarrassing games of NBA season. Raptors in Cleveland  “Hold our expensive beer.”

(the Cavaliers, 2nd worst team in NBA,  beat Toronto, 2nd best team in NBA east, by 25.)

–

Fox Sports hired Urban Meyer for new 2019 college football pregame show. Gosh, in most of country this might make ratings as good as ratings for this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Getting over it is for wusses..  Mailed from a New Orleans friend.

–

An Iditarod Musher lost a huge lead after he said he yelled at one of dogs and “then they wouldn’t go anymore. Anywhere. So we camped here.” So they couldn’t be bossed around. Who did the pack think they were, cats?

–

Michelle Wie is engaged to Jonnie West, son of former Lakers star Jerry West. How long until all their future children will be offered scholarships?

–

Sarah Huckabee Sanders wouldn’t discuss Trump checks to Michael Cohen. Amazed she didn’t say if they were real Donald would have written them to “Michael Lawyer” to save time.

–

Trump says making “Daylight Savings Time permanent is O.K. with me!” Wait until someone tells him California is one of the states most in favor of it.

–

What’s next, we’re going to find out that Cindy Yang also runs a chain of pedophile pizza parlors?

–

U.S. Customs has seized 3,000 lbs of cocaine, worth $77 million, at Port New York/Newark. Build that sea wall?

–

So who really cares that Trump called Tim Cook “Tim Apple.” But then Friday night he told donors that he said Tim Cook Apple, but the Cook was said softly. Now he tweets “I referred to Tim + Apple as Tim/Apple as an easy way to save time & words…””
Is there ANYTHING he won’t lie about?

–

As Senate approaches a vote on Trump’s National Emergency declaration this from GOP Sen Roy Blunt ” think we’re universally for what the president wants to do, but there’s significant concern about using the emergency in this new way that sets a precedent likely in court that future presidents could use.”
Translation, we think Trump should be able to do whatever he wants, but God forbid a future Democrat can do the same thing.

–

For some reason, Fox News isn’t covering Trump’s proposed $845 billion cuts to Medicare.

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez are engaged. Good for them. Who said ARod would never get another ring?

–

Warriors managed to lose tonight, at home, to the  Phoenix Suns  – Klay Thompson said “So it’s ugly but I expect our crowd to be a little more into it. . . It doesn’t matter if we’re playing the Suns or the Bucks, whoever it is. We need that energy from them because we feed off that.”

Yeah, it’s a LONG season.   But if you need crowd energy to beat a team that had five road wins all season…?

(Meanwhile, the Spurs, still fighting to keep their playoff streak alive, did manage to beat the best-record-in-the-NBA Bucks in San Antonio. Wonder how much credit Pop gave THEIR crowd.)

–

Lakers forward Brandon Ingram diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right arm and is done for the season. Making him luckier than the team’s season ticket holders.

A woman who hopped a fence at an Arizona zoo to take a selfie with a jaguar was mauled by the cat but will survive. The selfie might have looked good next to her shiny new Darwin award…

(Good follow-up news…. the cat is not getting punished.  Hoping she might even get a treat to compensate for the taste of stupid human.)

Anyone but me have a problem with state that can make or break a Presidential campaign also being state that elected Steve King?

–

The owner of many spas in south Florida, including at one point Robert Kraft’s favorite Orchids of Asia is a Mar-A-Lago member and has advertised being able to get access for Chinese clients to the President and his administration.   Wonder if Orchids of Asia masseuses made Mar-A-Lago house calls?

–

And somehow I think it’s much bigger threat to US national security to have brothel owners selling access for foreign executives to POTUS than to have transgender members of the military.

I repeat, I will vote for 2020 Democratic nominee no matter who she/he is. But why is Joe Biden, 76, too old, when Bernie Sanders, 77, isn’t?

It would bother me less that Trump supporters are so quick to forgive ALL his moral failings, if they weren’t same people who wanted to impeach Bill Clinton over a blow job.

–

So how long until Devon Nunes tries to declare a national emergency over straws?

Sometimes I love the internet.   Go to Trumphotels.org   –  Worth the click, trust me.

As we inch closer to the playoffs starting April 13, casual fans can rejoice in the NBA’s preseason FINALLY being almost over.

According to ESPN, Cal State Northridge coach Mark Gottfried is “the first head coach directly connected to impermissible payments to players”, from his days at NC State.
Meanwhile at top 25 programs – nothing to see here, move along.

–

After LSU basketball coach Will Wade was recorded talking about a “strong-ass” offer for a recruit, LSU has suspended their men’s basketball coach “indefinitely.”
Over-under on how long before Wade resigns to spend time with his family before eventually taking an NBA job?

–

Former All-Star pitcher Esteban Loaiza was sentenced to three years in prison for cocaine possession Friday.  If he’d only done something less heinous, like trying to defraud the US government out of millions.

–

Some of  Michael Jackson’s biggest fans are still insisting the pop mega-star did nothing wrong. Have to wonder, if Michael were still alive, would he be performing at the White House.

–

Friday Donald Trump and Michael called each other liars on Twitter. Uh, the difference is that Cohen has admitted it.

–

So is Cindy Yi Lang, owner of several day spas, including Orchids of Asia, where Robert Kraft was arrested,  the one who told Trump about duct taping immigrant women?

–

Important side note, Trump scheduled his visit to Alabama TODAY for one reason only. It was sort of on the way to Florida so he could head straight down for another taxpayer funded golf weekend.

–

To be fair, as much criticism as Donald Trump got for autographing bibles in Alabama while viewing tornado damage, at least someone must have talked him out of charging for the autographs.

–

So if he really cared about Puerto Rico, why didn’t Donald Trump autograph those paper towels he threw?

–

To be fair, as much criticism as Donald Trump got for autographing bibles in Alabama while viewing tornado damage, at least someone must have talked him out of charging for the autographs.

Lakers announced they will put LeBron James on a minutes restriction and have him sit one of back-to-backs. They didn’t say if they will also be giving out commemorative tanks.

–

Steve Kerr says that with only 9 home games left in regular season at Oracle Arena, he hopes team can play better for fans than they have lately. Though actually with prices Warriors are charging at new Chase Arena,  wonder if THOSE are the fans likely to turn into serious boo-birds with efforts like the team’s against Celtics?

–

About 100 of 450 NBA players are foreign born. Including Bucks star and probable MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Guessing whatever team wins this year, they’re not going to the White House.

–

FBI apparently has LSU basketball coach Will Wade recorded allegedly talking about a “hell of an offer” to a top recruit.
Tigers are ranked #10 in country. So how badly will NCAA slap Wade’s hand?

–

Tom Seaver, 74, has dementia and will retire from public life. 2019 so far kind of sucks. #MiracleMets

–

As we get closer to Easter, is it time to pull the Marshmallow Peeps out of storage?

–

All the headlines saying “Manafort sentenced to nearly four years in prison in bank fraud case.’ Let me fix it ‘Manafort sentenced to 15 years LESS than the sentencing guidelines were for his bank fraud conviction.”

–

Sherrod Brown is not running for President. Sad in many ways as I think he’s very electable. But as a good friend points out…. there might not be anyone else in Ohio who could keep his Senate seat blue.

Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright suspended 80 games for PED’s. Wright is a knuckleballer. So did he take PEDs to increase his pitch speed from 60 to 70 mph?

–

Any given weekday?  Less than 24 hours after beating the Golden State Warriors on their home court at Oracle by 33, the Boston Celtics needed a bucket by Gordon Hayward with 2 seconds left to beat the Sacramento Kings?

–

After the Bears were knocked out of playoffs by a missed kick that did a double doink off the uprights and crossbars,  Chicago has signed a potential new placekicker.- His name? Chris Blewitt.

Some items don’t even need a punch line.

–

As a San Antonio Spurs fan glad they won tonight to help keep their currently 21 year  playoff streak potentially alive. But “beloved” referee Scott Foster, former friend of Tim Donaghy, threw Atlanta Hawks Taurean Prince late out in 3rd with 2 straight technicals – the first for saying something & the 2nd for saying something else in response to the technical fouls. Because of course everyone tunes in to NBA games to watch refs?

–

There are people alive with gray hair who don’t remember Jeopardy before Alex Trebek.

–

A Stanford admissions officer is in jail accused of attempted murder for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend while on LSD. Wonder how many parents are calling the university, worried this might affect THEIR child’s application.

–

What’s worse, that Trump threatened an academy about releasing his high school grades? Or that Trump is small enough to think anyone CARES about high school grades? #PresidentSnowflake

–

GM closing Lordstown plant today, the 1st of 4 US plants they will close, with 1435 hourly workers laid off and only 417 able to transfer. I missed the Trump tweet taking credit.

–

At White House today Trump called Tim Cook “Tim Apple.” Personally, I don’t care if he wrongly calls someone by a fake name. I care when he wrongly calls the border situation a fake “National Emergency.”

Bryce Harper is lobbying publicly for Mike Trout to join him in Philly.   Because in the first days of a honeymoon everyone KNOWS their best friends should marry into their new family?

–

First Larry Baer incident, now SF Giants OF Cameron Maybin apparently was arrested early last Friday am in Scottsdale for alleged DUI.
Maybe Giants are trying just a BIT too hard to compete with the 49ers?

–

Brad Stevens still looks like he’s 12 years old. #Celtics

–

Mets have hired Jessica Mendoza as a front office advisor.  Mendoza, a former Stanford star softball player, will continue her Sunday Night Baseball duties.  How often do I say this “Well-played Mets!”?

–

Kylie Jenner, 21, was just declared the youngest self-made billionaire, beating out Mark Zuckerberg.
Amazing job of overcoming hardships. So I guess she’s ahead of Prince William and Harry too?

–

Judge Amy Berman Jackson is upset with Roger Stone over his new book etc and has set “a strict deadline” for him to explain how he hasn’t again violated her gag order. So is this part of the court’s “7 strikes and you’re out” policy?

–

Happy Fat Tuesday.
Hmm… would be inappropriate for this to remind me that Donald Trump really seems to want a holiday named after him.

–

As GOP and Trump scream harassment and waste with Mueller investigation your reminder that Ken Starr spent six years and $70 million to discover Bill Clinton was lying about a blowjob.

–

Now former White House lawyer Ty Cobb, who resigned last May, says “Bob Mueller is an American hero,” and “I don’t think it’s a witch hunt.”
So how long until Trump claims he fired Cobb too?

–

Just as a challenge for fans of @realDonaldTrump, is there anyone who has ever worked for him and criticized him afterwards that he doesn’t trash?
#PresidentSnowflake

–

As Trump tweets PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT! let me fix it for him.
Drop the H,A,R,M,E,N,T of the second word.

Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Mavericks and known for “Shark Tank”, says again he might run for President but “It really would take the exact right set of circumstances”
Another billionaire reality-star? How about the circumstances being “hell freezes over.”

–

On opening day SF Giants will pay tribute to former CEO Peter Magowan, who passed away earlier this year. But in his honor did current CEO Larry Baer have to try to commit career suicide? #BusToHell

–

Forget making the playoffs, at this point  LeBron James and Lakers may have to struggle to finish ahead of the …. Pelicans?!!!.

(Almost as if Los Angeles is getting some karmic payback from New Orleans.)

–

At the White House Trump Monday served North Dakota State FCS football champion team Big Macs from McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A. So is this really a ploy for him to stockpile a secret supply of fast-food?

But seriously, has anyone told Donald that teams full of players who eat nothing but cheap fast food aren’t the teams who’ll be bringing championship trophies to the White House?

–

Former acting AG Matthew Whitaker abruptly left Justice Department this weekend. So was there a bullet he wouldn’t take for Trump. Or has he been offered a job at Fox News?

–

Since Trump is ordering an “A+” response from FEMA for Alabama, would he care to tell us what grade response he ordered for Puerto Rico and California?

–

So has Trump announced when he is heading down to Alabama to throw beautiful paper towels?

Today’s Trump fundraising email.  (somehow I got added to the list with my work email…)
“My team handed me a list of all patriots who entered to have breakfast with me and I noticed your name was MISSING.
With my extremely busy schedule, I normally don’t even have time for breakfast. But, when my team told me that one lucky American Patriot would be there, I knew I had to make the time.”

Okay, forget lies about money and Russia and porn stars, does anyone seriously believe Trump has missed a meal in his life?

Lebron James went to  Los Angeles Lakers in part to jump-start his career in Hollywood. Well, in 2019 looks like he’ll be free to work on movies starting in April.

–

Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck said Boston just finished the “worst February” he can remember as the team went 5-6.
And Knicks fans are thinking “For 5-6 we’d throw a parade.”

–

With more than a month left in NBA season, Phoenix Suns have officially been eliminated from playoffs. What’s more shocking? The Knicks haven’t.

–

Who says I never praise Republicans? Louisiana Sen Kennedy at Gridiron dinner -“Crime’s so bad we had a Super Bowl stolen from us.” And about Super Bowl – “If I’d wanted to watch guys failing to score for 4 hrs, I’d have taken Ted Cruz & Bernie Sanders to a singles bar.

–

Nice line from Amy Klobuchar at the same dinner saying she has an advantage as a Minnesotan running for president: “The Russians won’t try to meet with me because Minneapolis is even too cold for them.”

–

Jim Jordan referred Michael Cohen to the Justice Department for alleged perjury.
I have an idea. How about “Gym” Jordan and Cohen both take a polygraph test with questions about things they saw and heard in their past employments?

–

If someone asked Trump today about Selma he’d probably answer “Don’t remember the woman. She’s lying. And she wouldn’t have been my first choice.”

–

Trump spent most of the evening ranting on twitter while many Americans died in Alabama and Georgia.   He finally did acknowledge the disaster….maybe he’d have done it sooner if someone told him tornadoes could be stopped by a wall..?

Trump said he walked away from the North Korea summit in Vietnam because Kim Jong Un wanted complete sanctions relief. Tonight he blamed Democrats and claimed Cohen hearings “may have contributed to the ‘walk.”
What, did hearing his ex-lawyer cause a flare-up of Donald’s bone spurs?

Yeah, in slight sour grapes mode, but this from Bryce Harper is well-played indeed. Explaining why he is going to wear No 3. with Phillies – “I wore No. 34. But I thought Roy Halladay should be the last to wear it.”

–

Then in Harper’s first press conference he said he wanted to “bring a title back to DC.”    As my friend Alex Kaseberg said “When asked about the location mistake, Harper said, “Geometry was never my strong suit.”

–

Lebron James is one of GOATs. But about now he might be thinking instead of his one-person Lakers team-building dream, he’d be happier and better off with GOAT coach he respects in San Antonio, Gregg Popovich?

Geir Helgemo, ranked as #1 bridge player in the world, was just stripped of his titles, points and medals from the 2018 World Bridge Series after testing positive for clomifene, a female fertility drug and synthetic testosterone. It’s enough to make you long for the purity of pro wrestling.

Howard Schultz’s platform basically seems to be maligning both Democrats and Republicans. As a Democrat, I acknowledge our party isn’t perfect. But being President is a constant series of hard choices. How can you make those choices when you can’t even pick a side?

–

Michelle Malkin at CPAC, attacking “the ghost of John McCain,” over immigration. If any ghosts are listening, some serious haunted dreams are in order.

–

Trump today “Our laws are so crazy. But one by one we’re finding ways. You know they call them loopholes, a lot of our laws are loopholes. Well, I’m trying to get loopholes to get around the loopholes…”
In other words “Technically I AM a crook, but I’m proud of it.”

–

Mick Mulvaney Saturday at CPAC: “The president really is a master negotiator.”
Oops, instead of “negotiator” I think Mick meant “bater.”

–

Some conservatives point to a strict reading of the Constitution as defense of gun rights. So why aren’t they concerned with the Emoluments Clause, which isn’t even an amendment? #TrumpScotland #TrumpGolfCourse

“Trump at CPAC on Gavin Newson “he called me up the other day, let’s say 4 weeks ago or so…said “I just want to tell you, you’re a great president and you’re one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.”

Uh, would Gavin like to tell us what he REALLY said?”

Okay, it’s Spring Training. But Jon Miller and Mike Krukow called a televised Giants game. SF won, Madbum pitched well, Chris Shaw hit a monster home run, and Joey Bart got a chance to catch. All is better with the world.

–

But  what a difference a day makes. Guessing about now SF Giants would prefer reporters only ask them about not signing Bryce Harper. #LarryBaer

–

Though yeah,  I’m on the bus to hell for this. But yesterday SF Giants were afraid their number one problem in 2019 would be not enough hitting.

Anyone besides me thinking these days of their favorite athletes but also thinking “Dear Gawd I hope I never hear about them involved in anything close to sexual assault of domestic violence?

–

Apparently a private message leaked publicly on Instagram has Bryce Harper trying to recruit Le’Veon Bell to play for the Eagles in Philadelphia, the “greatest city in the world”
Uh, if it’s the greatest city in the world, why did it take Harper so long to make up his mind?

Chicago Bulls – Atlanta Hawks final score tonight  168-161 – Guess at least tired announcers didn’t have to pick a “defensive player of the game.”

–

Not that I care about any of them but I do miss the days when the biggest uproar on social media would have involved Tristian Thompson cheating on Khloe Kardashian with Jordyn Woods.

–

In the last 48 hours, retailers have announced plans to close 300 mall stores.
Millennials are going “What’s a mall store?”

–

How many people applauding Mike Pence this week talking about “freedom over socialism” at CPAC receive Social Security or Medicare?

–

Does anyone think Trump wouldn’t have fired Kushner by now if he weren’t Ivanka’s husband?
Does anyone think Trump would have hired him in the first place if he weren’t Ivanka’s husband?

–

Trump called Kim Jong Un “mercurial.”. Two questions. Who taught Donald that word? And does anyone think he has any idea what it means?

In the “how low can you go department,” this is Trump after being criticized for saying he believed Kim Jong Un about Otto Warmbier
‘Remember, I got Otto out along with three others. The previous Administration did nothing, and he was taken on their watch.’

So Bryce Harper got $330 million for 13 years from Phillies, after turning down $300 million for 10 years from Nationals. Not sure what his favorite subject in school was but guessing it wasn’t math.

(Btw, April 2, first week of the season, Phillies play the Nationals in DC.  Could be entertaining…)

–

At 13 years for Bryce Harper contract,  there are kids not even born in Philly who will be booing him someday.

–

Over-under on how long until Bryce Harper says “It wasn’t about the money?”

–

But ok, SF Giants fans, Bryce Harper’s $330 million contract with the Phillies is only $27 million less than the $357 million it cost to BUILD PAC BELL PARK! No joke.

–

Robert Kraft pleaded not guilty to solicitation charges despite videotapes showing him receiving oral sex at Orchids of Asia Day Spa before the AFC/NFC championship games. Maybe he’s hoping prosecutors are as blind as refs during Rams-Saints game.

–

Jason Witten is leaving MNF, ending his retirement and returning to NFL. Fans of both good broadcasting and good football hope this doesn’t give Tony Romo any ideas.

–

Lamar Alexander reportedly urging Trump to withdraw his declaration of a national emergency or face a revolt from his own party.

Actually, I would argue that Republicans already ARE revolting.

–

USA-North Korea talks broke off suddenly before planned Trump-Kim lunch of snow fish and apple foie gras jelly. Maybe because they wouldn’t serve Donald his hamberders?

–

Trump last night on abruptly leaving the summit with Kim Jong Un – “Sometimes you have to walk….” And how brave of him to walk with those bone spurs.

=

Has anyone thought that maybe Trump loves Putin & Kim Jong Un not just because they are dictators, but also because they’re short enough to make him really feel 6’3″?

–

How long until Trump says Allen Weisselberg was just his covfefe accountant?

–

Mark Meadows, after 2012 video of his birther accusations against Obama surfaced stated “There’s not a racist bone in my body.”  He’s right, there are 206 of them.