A New York Grand Jury has indicted former U.S. President Donald Trump on charges of "hush money" paid to porn star Stormy Daniels that was attempted to be concealed back in the 2016 elections.
The former POTUS is also facing possible indictments for numerous charges, including in the state of Georgia in attempts to overturn the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
Stay tuned.
All in all, it's a different view for the sport this year as the rules changes will be in place to help speed up the game. In recent years, games have typically gone more than three hours, especially in the post-season when TV commercials impact the pace of play in between innings and even during games when there's dead spots. In addition, for the first time in league history, every team will be playing each other at least three times this season. That should be an interesting twist to the regular season schedule.
But what matters most to fans is whether or not their favorite team has a legitimate shot to make the playoffs and advance to the World Series.
In the American League, the Houston Astros are the defending World Series champions and have dominated the West division for the last six or seven years. but they will be without their star second baseman Jose Altuve for the first two months (possibly longer) this season after he suffered a broken thumb playing in the WBC. Also, can Aaron Judge come close to duplicating last season's eye popping numbers he put up with the New York Yankees to get them into the World Series for the first time in 14 years?
Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres are the hot pick to win the National League West division and possibly get to the World Series, which would be the first time in 25 years for the team if it should happen. The Padres have been picking up practically every available big time free agent player and recently reworked Manny Machado's contract to keep him with the team following the upcoming season. Stay tuned regarding this perennial under achieving team.
Last year, it was the Houston Astros winning it all, knocking off the surprising Philadelphia Phillies to claim the World Series title. Every season is different and certainly with some rules changes in place this year to help speed things up during games, it will have a different feel for sure. But baseball is still baseball and when all the number crunching is put aside and the players actually get on the field, that's where the excitement is at.
Here is a look at the division races and a look ahead to possible playoff matches and eventual World Series champion.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East
1. Atlanta Braves - This team is going for their sixth straight NL East title.
2. Philadelphia Phillies - Injury bug already biting here, can the Phils recapture late season magic again?
3. New York Mets - Pitching will be the key for this team. Closer role up in the air with Edwin Diaz gone for season.
4. Miami Marlins - Young team is on the rise with strong pitching.
5. Washington Nationals - Still in rebuilding mode.
Central
1. St. Louis Cardinals - This team could go far in the playoffs or miss them entirely.
2. Milwaukee Brewers - Pitching will determine how far the Brew Crew can go.
3. Chicago Cubs - Lots of new faces, but will it add up to success this summer?
4. Pittsburgh Pirates - Young team that is looking to improve.
5. Cincinnati Reds - Reds are rebuilding.
West
1. San Diego Padres - Payroll makes winning it all a must.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers - One last hurrah for an aging team? Not likely.
3. San Francisco Giants - They could finish in the basement this season.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks - Up and coming team that could finish as high as third place.
5. Colorado Rockies - See above comments on Giants and Diamondbacks regarding Rockies.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East
1. New York Yankees - Pitching injuries already a concern. Could finish anywhere from first to third.
2. Toronto Blue Jays - World Series contenders for sure. Need to stay healthy.
3. Tampa Bay Rays - Every season people count them out, but they do well anyway.
4. Baltimore Orioles - O's looking to prove that last season was no fluke.
5. Boston Red Sox - Too many question marks for this team as they look to move up in 2023.
Central
1. Cleveland Guardians - Good solid club with a top notch manager.
2. Chicago White Sox - Which version of the White Sox will show up? New manager for 2023.
3. Minnesota Twins - This team could win the AL Central. Stay tuned.
4. Detroit Tigers - Will battle Kansas City to stay out of the cellar.
5. Kansas City Royals - Will battle Detroit to stay out of the basement.
West
1. Houston Astros - Can they repeat? Staying healthy will be the key for loaded team.
2. Texas Rangers - New manager who has won it all and big names on the roster as well.
3. Seattle Mariners - The Mariners will be tough again in a strong division.
4. Los Angeles Angels - Trout and Ohtani . . . still not enough for the Halos to make playoffs.
5. Oakland A's - Major rebuild in the works.
N.L. PLAYOFFS
Wild Card Round - Dodgers over Mets; Cardinals over Phillies
Divisional Series - Braves over Cardinals; Padres over Dodgers
NLCS - Braves over Padres
A.L. PLAYOFFS
Wild Card Round - Guardians over Twins; Blue Jays over White Sox
Divisional Series - Astros over Blue Jays; Yankees over Guardians
ALCS - Astros over Yankees
WORLD SERIES - Houston Astros over Atlanta Braves in seven games.
That's the process for the political drama that forever surrounds Donald Trump in his insatiable appetite for attention.
This time it is the imminent arrest of him (which he predicts will happen this coming Tuesday) and he is ginning up his brain dead supporters to rally around him and riot in the streets. How'd that go for those folks who are now in prison as a result of the coup attempt two years ago in Washington, D.C.?
Also, the whole Tuesday thing he is talking about for his incarceration
reminds me of the Wimpy character in the Popeye cartoons. He was always
referencing Tuesday as the day he would gladly repay someone if they
bought him a hamburger today.
Last summer, Trump and his cohorts leaked the information that the Feds had "seized" the classified documents he and his staff stole from the White House and brought along to the Mar-A-Lago resort among other places. See the pattern here? He stirs it up ahead of the news and tries to get his MAGA cult to revolt.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
But all of this is just another smoke screen manufactured by the master con artist.
When the day arrives that Trump is indeed arrested, there will be no fore warnings. It will just happen. They will show up with the proper legal papers and take him into custody. That's how it works.
Until then, all bets are off.
The 2022-23 NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament is ready to get going once again and this year's version could be one of the wildest in many years.
The overall number one seed is Alabama. No, not the Crimson Tide football team, but the basketball team. Like stated earlier, this has been a very unique basketball season and this year's tourney could be one of the wildest in many years.
The other three number one seeds include Houston, Kansas and Purdue. The picks here for the Final Four are Duke, Alabama, Houston and Kansas.
Buckle up folks, because it very well will be MARCH MADNESS indeed.
For example, in the world of sports, the big story right now rather than March Madness (which will begin in earnest this coming week all leading up to selection Sunday on March 12) it's all about the troubles of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies star player Ja Morant. It appears that Morant was showing a gun late Friday night/early Saturday morning while partying with friends at an establishment.
Morant has been spectacular playing on the court in his first four years in the league, but recently has had some bad behavior in public that would make former NBA "Bad Boy" Dennis Rodman blush with embarrassment. The NBA should come down very hard on this type of thing, especially with all the mass shootings taking place in this country. There's nothing glorious about gun violence.
Speaking of this country, when will former president Donald Trump finally be held accountable for all his misdeeds and crimes by the Department of Justice? Attorney General Merrick Garland is so wishy washy about dealing with this guy. Not sure why, because the January 6th Committee did their work and showed nearly all the evidence pointing to Trump as the main culprit in the coup attempt (attention main stream media - it was way more than just a riot) a little over two years ago.
Hey DOJ, get busy! Trump belongs behind bars. Period. End of discussion.
And while we are at it regarding the media, when will Fox "News" be categorized as opinion television rather than a legitimate news source?
So many people (mostly older Americans ranging in the ages of 45-74) are duped by these fools who have no interest whatsoever in the United States of America. Hell, these people are openly rooting for Russian thug Vladimir Putin to crush Ukraine. How pathetic is that?
Locally in Chicago, the mayoral election is ongoing and it will be between Paul Vallas (I call him a carpet bagger because he is nothing but an opportunist who has moved from city to city for years for his own political benefit) and Brandon Johnson, a former radio talk show host with close ties to the Chicago Teachers Union. It's a white man and a black man running for the office, so look for the racists to come out from under their rocks for the next month. Interesting times indeed in the Windy City.
Down in Florida, dictator wannabe Ron DeSantis (the so called governor of that state) continues to force his will upon the citizens in the sunshine state. This guy is sickening and needs to be put in his place. As an elected official, he is a public servant, he is not a dictator. He seems to have forgotten that somewhere along the line and there is NOTHING patriotic about that.
Another cartoon looking character is Steve Bannon, a former Trump accomplice in January 6th coup attempt, who still is not behind bars even though he was sentenced late last summer to serve four months (slap on the wrist) in prison following his conviction for bilking people out of money for the building the wall effort down at the U.S./Mexican border a few years ago. Something fishy with this whole thing because it's normally just a couple of months granted to an individual to get their affairs in order before reporting to the slammer. Stay tuned.
Let's talk about climate change too . . . has anyone been checking out the bizarre weather all over the world recently? Snow in the deserts in southwestern parts of the United States is just one example of the crazy weather along with the warm temps that have occurred regularly in colder climate areas all over the globe. Meanwhile, the deniers continue to suck up to the oil industry which contributes to the problem. Some things never change. Maybe one day some sense will pour into the lawmakers and they'll grow a pair and stand up to the culprits.
Money is a big problem with all of that (thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2010 on the so called "citizens" united decision) as the dark shadow money pours into elections nationwide and corrupts the process of "We the People" choosing our elected leaders. Hell, some states (always the red ones) want to do away with the electoral process and just dictate (there's that ugly word again) who will be the political leaders to do the bidding of the billionaires and big corporate interests.
Not all is lost though and the 2022 Congressional mid-term elections proved that. Granted, the republican party gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives by a very slim margin, but it's nowhere near the 20-30 seat advantage the political pundits were calling for. The U.S. Senate is razor thin as well with the Democratic party holding the lead. And above all, Joe Biden is the President of the United States and normalcy has returned to the Oval Office following the four years (2017-2021) of absolute corruption and chaos when the traitor in chief was there.
God Bless America is an understatement these days it seems, but as long as the people of this country stay "woke" against the bad guys (mostly republican politicians and religious zealots) teaming with the fascists and corrupt oligarchs across the world, there is definitely hope to retain and empower our democracy.
My fellow Americans, stay woke and be well.
