Left Coast Sports Babe

Usain Bolt won another gold medal for Jamaica. Pretty sure Bolt won’t be accused of recent marijuana use, imagine by much more he’d have won. #Rio2016

US men were DQ’ed in 4 by 100 relay. Thanks to  Ryan Lochte for  making sure this isn’t most embarrassing American men’s team story of these Olympic games.

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Only US Olympian who might be happy about #LochteGate? #HopeSolo. #Rio2016

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Nothing against Team USA men’s basketball in Rio. But rooting for them seems about as anticlimatic as rooting for Joey Chestnut in a county fair eating contest.

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Ryan Lochte took to Instagram to apologize for not being more “candid.” He’s either trying to salvage his endorsements or laying the groundwork for a long career in politics.

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Gold medalist Jimmy Feigen left Brazil, after he “donated” over $10,000 to a charity in exchange for his passport. And the USOC has indicated they may sanction the swimmers. Ryan Lochte also stands to lose endorsements. That bathroom is ending up being a very expensive pay toilet.

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James Harrison, named in the Al Jazeera PED report, says he welcomed an “open” investigation, but (again) called Roger Goodell a “crook.” Wonder how much Harrison will get fined for that.

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Donald Trump last night acknowledged that “I sometimes say the wrong thing.”
Many in the GOP are thinking, yeah, like “Today I announce my candidacy for the Presidency of the United States.”

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Paul #Manafort is out of @realDonaldTrump’s campaign. So congrats to all those who had Aug 19 in the pool

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#Uber is launching a test fleet of robot taxis. So yet another step closer to getting through days without talking to another human.

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Who says I never say anything nice about Catholic schools? But well-played: A Catholic high school for boys in Arkansas posted this sign on their door “”If you are dropping off your son’s forgotten lunch, books, homework, equipment etc., please TURN AROUND and exit the building. Your son will learn to problem-solve in your absence.”
Wonder how many parents asked if it meant they could have these things shipped by Amazon Same-Day?

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In 2011, the Texas legislature slashed funding to family planning clinics in the state by 66 percent and many clinics closed. From 2011 to 2015 almost twice is many women died in pregnancy or soon after childbirth as the preceding four years. (537 from 296). Once again four words. “Pro Life My Ass.”

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Colin Powell today in a statement said he told Hillary in a memo once that using personal email “vastly improved” communications within the State department.
Just another commie-pinko Clinton apologist….

Donald Trump today to black voters “”You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58% of your youth is unemployed — what the hell do you have to lose?” Well, at least he didn’t reminisce about the good old days of slavery.

But really, this swimming incident would never happen with the U.S. women’s team. If the bathroom was locked they’d take turns peeing in the bushes while someone acted as lookout. ‪#‎womenaresmarter‬

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Forget transgenders, clearly the most dangerous people near bathrooms are male Olympic swimmers. ‪#‎LochteGate‬ ‪#‎Rio2016‬

#‎RyanLochte‬ motto “Winning a gold medal means never having to say you’re sorry.” ‪#‎Rio2016‬

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Next up from @NBCOlympics, an exclusive ‪#‎RyanLochte‬ interview by Brian Williams?

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Oops, another Olympic lying scandal? 
Michelle Obama tweeted congrats to Aly Raisman and asked “what healthy foods keep you fueled as you go for gold. Raisman tweeted back “Salmon, avocado, whole wheat bread, almonds, pineapples & Greek yogurt.” Then, oops, Aly remembered…. “@FLOTUS Ignore our recent tweet about eating fries & ice cream. Sometimes u gotta splurge. Moderation, right?😂🙈🙈😂 ”

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Tonight was ‪#‎JerryGarcia‬ tribute night at ‪#‎ATTPark‬. ‪#‎SFGiants‬ fans were  grateful  the team didn’t play like they were dead.

(Jake Peavy, btw, had a tie-dye shirt under his uniform.)

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Pastor Darrell Scott, a rare African-American Trump supporter, thinks the Donald’s problem is “Black people believe satire, black people believe parody. ”
And black people, like white people, also believe their ears. ‪#‎SMH‬

#‎LochteGate‬ getting so much attention @realDonaldTrump will need to say something truly outrageous to knock US swimming out of headlines.

Tom Brady missed tonight’s Patriots Bears game after he sliced his right thumb getting dirt out of a cleat. Gisele: “my husband cannot throw the football and clean his shoes at the same time.”.

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In eight years, Mylan has raised the price of EpiPens from about $100 to $500, and up. Is the pharmaceutical company now partially owned by Martin Shkreli?

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Some criticism of Obama for not cutting his vacation short to visit flooded areas in Louisiana, even though the state’s governor said “Quite frankly that is not something that I want to go through right now. While the president is welcome to visit, I would just as soon he give us another a week or two, get back to a greater sense of normalcy here.”
And of course if Obama did go he’d be criticized for wasting police time that could be better spent helping flood victims.

So the US women’s beach volleyball team will not even play for the Gold in this Olympics?  Well, if global warming was real, American weather would have been hot enough and not lulled the women into a false sense of security?  Clearly this is Obama’s fault. #sarcasm

Another good day for American women gymnasts. Which should be very inspiring to young girls in the US to watch. Both of them whose parents let them stay up until 1130p. ‪#‎NBCtapedelaysucks‬

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Some people are upset about Bahaman sprinter Shaunae Miller’s dive for the gold medal in the women’s 400 meters that barely beat Allyson Felix for the gold. Mostly Americans who wish Felix had thought of it first.

Irish boxer Michael Conlan, who lost a controversial decision to a Russian angrily tweeted out to Putin ““How much did they charge you bro?” And the Russian president is thinking “hey, if I could don’t you think I’d have paid the IOC to let our track and field team compete first?

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For 1st time as Michigan coach, ‪#‎JimHarbaugh‬ stormed out of press conference. So congrats to all those who had Aug 16 in the pool. ‪#‎MGoBlue‬

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Buffalo Bills DT Marcell Dareus has been suspended again, this time 4 games, for violating the NFL substance-abuse policy, allegedly with marijuana. So when pot is legal in most states will we look back at these suspensions and think “How quaint?”

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Jonathan Papelbon has interest from “multiple clubs” and expects to sign with a new team within 24 hours. Who knew cancer could be selective?

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“Many people are saying” that Roger Ailes is advising Donald Trump before the Presidential debates. The Trump campaign is denying the rumors, but if true might explain why the Donald has his beautiful daughter out of the country on vacation.

Rick Perry today on Gold Star father Khizr Khan: “I think the Democrats used him…if you’re gonna go out and think that you can take a shot at somebody and not have incoming back at you, shame on you.”
Ok, harsh perhaps, but fair enough. Just wondering how Perry would feel if some Dem took a shot at one of the parents who spoke during the GOP convention over their children being killed by undocumented immigrants, for starters. ‪#‎IOKIYR‬

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Rudy Giuliani said he didn’t forget 9-11 when he said “before Obama came along, we didn’t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack inside the U.S,” he just likes to use “abbreviated” language.
Give the man his due, neither Trump nor Clinton ever thought of that one.

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Re Ivanka Trump vacationing with Wendi Deng Murdoch, a slightly adjusted post. I’ve seen the Putin girlfriend comments regularly but it likely is just gossip as Wendi and the Kremlin deny it.
But okay, even so, your dad is running for President, there are all kinds of rumors about Russian ties, loyalty is great, but why PUBLICIZE the friendship with Instagram? Or does that family really believe there is no such thing as bad publicity? ‪#‎Caesarswife‬

Fastest woman in world? ‪#‎Olympics‬ Congrats ‪#‎ElaineThompson‬ But can she compete with ‪#‎USA‬ women rushing to be 1st at ‪#‎BlackFriday‬ sale?

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Michael Phelps, 31, won gold tonight in what was billed as his final Olympic race. And somewhere Dara Torres is thinking “Quitting so young?

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USA isn’t that strong in diving these days. Correlation to fact that motel etc. swimming pools don’t have diving boards any more for “safety?” ‪#‎Rio2016‬

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SF Giants got 6 runs for Madison Bumgarner.  Starting with 2 runs with a 2 out single. Please do not adjust your set. This is not tape-delayed from before All Star Break.

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How many young people watching Olympic volleyball & thinking “so did they start playing indoors because it’s raining on the beach? ‪#‎Rio2016‬

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Most ‪#‎Stanford‬ freshmen feel overwhelmed & awed by classmates at first. But imagine poor young woman who will be ‪#‎KatieLedecky‬‘s roommate

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A-Rod, on life post-Yankees “I’m going to take some time for myself.” Begging the question, has he ever taken time that wasn’t for himself?

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A bill to eliminate Daylight Savings time in California may appear on the November ballot in 2018. Just what Californians will want right about the time it starts to get really dark early in the evening.

SF Giants unveiled Gaylord Perry statue and gave away a commemorative figurine – The giveway was not sponsored by Vaseline. What an outrage.

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Kenny Baker, 82, who played R2-D2 in six Star Wars movies, has died. And millions of Americans are going “You mean there was a human in there?”

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I miss the days when a city trending might be because of a sporting event or something positive, instead of a shooting. ‪#‎Milwaukee‬.

Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson is blaming Obama for taking the US into Afghanistan.

So does ‪#‎KatrinaPierson‬ think President Obama took us into Afghanistan because he didn’t learn his lesson from taking us into Vietnam?

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Now @realDonaldTrump says if he doesn’t win he’s going on “nice long vacation.” Because US will not be safe with violence he’s stirring up

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Trump said at a rally that in Pennsylvania that the only way he could lose is if “cheating goes on.” And added his campaign will be keeping a close eye on the state to ensure “other people don’t come in and vote five times.”
Hmm, so is that how the Donald won the GOP primary in the first place?

Now @RealDonaldTrump is threatening to pull press credentials from @NYTimes. Does ‪#‎Trump‬ think he actually has supporters who read it?

For those who chose to watch tape delayed Olympic coverage instead of the last three hours of the 5 hour and 34 minutes SF Giants game,  they played without their manager Bruce Bochy, who felt ill and has been hospitalized in Miami. ‪

Hmm, the SF Giants’ recent play was just supposed to make FANS sick.

The best of times, the worst of times, the best of times, the worst of times. Please tell @SFGiants it’s a baseball season not a Dickens novel.

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Brandon Crawford got the game winning hit for the Giants, his 7th of the evening.  Until today, seven hits might be the number of hits the Giants have had with runners in scoring position since the All-Star break.

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So somewhere at a Miami hospital a nurse is saying “Okay, time to turn out the lights Mr. Bochy.” ‪#‎SFGiants‬

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If ‪#‎BruceBochy‬ weren’t already in the hospital this ‪#‎SFGiants‬ game might have put him there.

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SF Giants & new reliever Will Smith together may be pursuing something, but so far it is not happyness.

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Has someone told  Tuesday SF Giants’ starter  ‪#‎MattMoore‬ he’s going 9 innings yet? ‪

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#‎ESPN‬ says hiring ‪#‎JordanRodgers‬ as ‪#‎SEC‬ analyst had nothing to do w/ his being on “The Bachelorette”. And they said it with straight face.

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So Meg Whitman last week, and now former Republican Michigan Gov. William Millken has endorsed Hillary Clinton for President. Come on, Mitt, you can do it. Thinking your father would have.

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Donald Trump is unveiling a new economic plan that will basically cut taxes at all income levels, and for businesses, and eliminate the estate tax. Sounds like the same sound principles of money management that have led to all those bankruptcies.

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When Mexico gets done paying for the wall are they going to pay for Trump’s tax cuts?

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So the Pro Football Hall of Fame game was canceled yesterday because the paint on the field was too hard? Seriously. ‪#‎Youhadonejob‬

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Monday was supposedly ‪#‎InternationalCatDay‬ Cats are just sniffing, EVERY day is #InternationalCatDay

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Weekend poll showed ‪#‎Clinton‬ beating ‪#‎Trump‬ in Georgia. Today ‪#‎Delta‬ Airlines, based in ATL, had a complete computer failure. ‪#‎IblameHillary‬

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Maine Senator Susan Collins says in an op-ed “I will not be voting for Donald Trump.” Fine, but it would be a little gutsier to say who she was actually voting for.

And “No one” is the same as abstaining on a bill.   #Profilesnotincourage

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Picture forwarded from New Orleans friends, real sign in an upscale neighborhood.

The IOC is bringing baseball back for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. Just as well they didn’t have the sport in Rio, but meanwhile fans who want to see professional players in decrepit substandard stadiums still have the Oakland Coliseum.

(my friend Rich, who has been to  As games, disagrees, as Rio may have better sanitation.)

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Johnny Manziel, who vowed he would get sober starting July 1, was reportedly seen drinking at a Southern California bar last weekend. Well, Manziel did say when he would start getting sober, he didn’t say when he would finish.

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Two games after trade deadline, two crippling errors at 3rd base. The curse of ‪#‎Skeeter‬ ‪#‎MattDuffy‬ ‪#‎SFGiants‬

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Bachelorette “winner” and former QB Jordan Rodgers has been cut by four pro-teams. But good news on the job front, Rodgers now says he will be an analyst this fall on the SEC Network. Well, this should stop any rumors he was on the show for the “wrong reasons.” ‪#‎sarcasm‬

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For anyone who thought airline euphemisms were confined to U.S. carriers, I give you Emirates today: Flight EK521 “has been involved in an operational incident upon landing at Dubai International Airport”
“Operational incident? Guess it sounds better than caught fire and basically exploded upon landing.
(amazingly, no fatalities on board, but one firefighter died)

Sarah Palin’s son-in-law, Dakota Meyer, himself a Medal of Honor recipient tweeted “‘If @realDonaldTrump wants to be the Commander in Chief, he needs to act like one And that cant start until he apologizes to the Khans.”
When you get called out by a member of the Palin family, you just might have a problem

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Some nutritionists with Olympic teams are worried about the potential unhealthy effects of the McDonald’s restaurant in the Olympic Village, which offers all its items free to athletes.
Well, this year the McDonald’s food is probably healthier than drinking the water..

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#‎nottheOnion‬ Donald Trump, exhibiting his exquisite sensitivity again, this time about sexual harassment at work. ““I think it’s got to be up to the individual It also depends on what’s available. There may be a better alternative; then there may not. If there’s not a better alternative, then you stay.”

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Joe Scarborough is reporting Donald Trump a few months ago asked a foreign policy expert “three times, in an hour briefing, why can’t we use nuclear weapons.”
The Trump campaign denies the report. Inclined to believe them. Why should we think the Donald would ask anybody anything?

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New ‪#‎FoxNews‬ poll shows Hillary Clinton with a 49% to 39% lead over Donald Trump. Waiting for Trump to say arithmetic is a rigged concept

Apparently at a private GOP fundraiser George W. Bush was more critical of Trump’s policies that he has been about Obama. ‪#‎upsidedownworld‬

A study published in The Journals of Gerontology found that with married couples who were 50 and older, couples who drank had “decreased negative marital quality over time.” In short, they were less irritated with each other. Well, that calls for another glass of wine.

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So SF Giants have decided they needed another starter more than they needed Matt Duffy.  But where is the cat to be named later?

Say it ain’t so. So long ‪#‎Duffy‬. But what will we do without ‪#‎Skeeter‬? ‪#‎Duffcat‬ ‪#‎SFGiants‬

So when he shows up, Yasiel Puig has been assigned to the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers. Really, haven’t OKC sports fans suffered enough with losing Kevin Durant?

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So the Blue Jays traded today for Francisco Liriano, the Cubs have Joe Nathan, and the SF Giants got another reminder that their 2003 A. J. Pierzynski trade is the gift that keeps on giving.

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In a West Virginia Walmart parking lot, a woman left her dogs in the car. They managed to get it out of park and the car ended up crashing into the store. For all that the dogs still probably drove better than some Florida snowbirds.

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Apparently @realDonaldTrump is trying to reschedule Presidential ‪#‎debates‬. Presumably until about November 15?

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One of Jeb Bush’s top advisors says she has left the GOP and will vote for Hillary Clinton if Florida is close. Uh, how will she tell if Florida is close? Using the same polling numbers that made Jeb think he had a chance?

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Nice thing about ‪#‎BacheloretteFinale‬ tonight, when ‪#‎JoJo‬ makes a mistake between 2 imperfect choices, it doesn’t really affect USA future.

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There are moments when I remember why I used to quite like Senator John McCain:

“I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump’s statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates I’d like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan: thank you for immigrating to America. We’re a better country because of you. And you are certainly right; your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation — and he will never be forgotten.”

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Question for ‪#‎JohnMcCain‬, so what exactly WOULD it take for you to say you are voting for ‪#‎HillaryClinton‬ ‪#‎HowlowcanTrumpgo‬?

Lindsey Graham, on Trump’s remarks about the Khan family “This is going to a place where we’ve never gone before, to push back against the families of the fallen,”
And somewhere Ted Cruz is going “Don’t seem so bad by comparison now do I?”

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Donald Trump has now been attacking fire marshals for turning away potential attendees to his events because they said the spaces he rented weren’t big enough. He is claiming it’s “why this country doesn’t work,” “a disgrace”, and “politics at its lowest.”
Well this should end well. ‪#‎passtheburntpopcorn‬

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Once again the question gets answered. “Have you no sense of decency, sir? Trump, doubling down on criticism of the Khan family “Border security’s very big (for me.) You have radical Islamic terrorists probably all over the place, we’re allowing them to come in by the thousands and thousands. And I think that’s what bothered Mr. Khan more than anything else.

Donald Trump posted a selfie on his private plane with bucket of KFC chicken. KFC? Surprised he didn’t say Trump Tower had better chicken.

Donald Trump has signed a pledge saying he will fight internet porn if elected. Well, that’s one way to get rid of some of those pictures floating around of Melania.

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Awful story from Austin, where a Redwood City, CA woman was fatally shot, and three others injured last night at closing time in the entertainment district. The alleged killer has a record for burglary and was arrested last month for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. But hey, it’s Texas, he was released without bail. ‪#‎ifonlyallthetouristswerearmed‬

Bus to hell moment: The (alleged) South Carolina church mass murderer’s attorneys filed a legal challenge to the U.S. death penalty tonight. Well, there is always convicting him, putting him in general population, and letting the problem work itself.